The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a preliminary report into a deadly plane crash near the Erie airport.
According to the report, the single-engine aircraft crashed on Oct. 19 at approximately 3:30 p.m., just east of the Erie Municipal Airport runway.
The airplane was used for flight instructions. On board was 22-year-old instructor Niles Tilenius and 21-year-old student pilot William Johnston. Previous reports say neither man was from Colorado.
The report says the JMB aircraft was practicing touch-and-go landings at the time of the crash. Tilenius and Johnston had completed four circuits of touch-and-go landings on the runway when they began their fifth approach.
According to witnesses, the airplane did not touch down this time and instead leveled off and began to climb. The report says, "Multiple witnesses located both at the airport and surrounding the airport reported seeing the airplane tumble or flip and then spin to the ground. Surveillance camera footage showed the airplane in a nose-low spin and then impact the ground."
Investigators note that the airframe parachute was not deployed. The system is an emergency parachute for small aircraft that helps lower an aircraft to the ground.
A new report from the New York Post says Tilenius was from California. He had recently landed two commercial pilot offers and was scheduled to start at GoJet Airlines on Nov. 18.
Investigators are continuing to look into the exact cause of the crash.
