NTSB report describes fatal plane crash near Patterson

A preliminary report hints at problems that might have been factors in the Oct. 12 plane crash that killed two people near Patterson. But the official determination of the crash's cause may not be reported for a year or more.

The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report includes a narrative of the events leading to the crash that claimed the lives of Dean Lee Felterman, 69, a member of a prominent Patterson family, and Mufid Jabour, 48, of Denham Springs, the plane's owner and pilot. Both were dead at the scene.

According to the report:

--A family member told the NTSB that Felterman was to fly to Houston for a medical appointment. At Gonzalez Regional Airport, Jabour, a flight instructor for single- and multiengine planes, put about 64 gallons of fuel in the twin-engine Cessna 414 he owned and took off for Patterson at 2:56 p.m. Oct. 12.

--He landed at 3:11 p.m. at Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport, where Felterman boarded the plane.

--A witness said that after Felterman boarded, the pilot got out and looked at something on the left side of the plane. Jabour got back in the plane.

--Jabour taxied the aircraft to Runway 24 and radioed his intention to take off. That was the last transmission from the plane. A few scattered clouds and 5 mph winds were reported at the time.

--An unnamed witness who was driving west of the airport told investigators that, shortly after takeoff, the plane was "tilted to the left" before it turned on its side and dove into the ground. The witness did not report seeing smoke or fire from the plane before the crash, and did not believe the plane was attempting to turn back to the airport.

--The plane crashed at 3:21 p.m. in a sugar cane field about 0.32 mile, or just less than 1,700 feet, from the end of the runway. The crash caused a fire.

--Examination of wreckage showed that the landing gear was retracted and the elevator trim tab "appeared to be in a significant nose up position."

--In the wreckage, the propellers were detached from the plane. "Both propellers exhibited signatures consistent with rotation at the time of impact, although neither propeller appeared to be feathered," the report said.

Feathering on a multiengine plane means changing the pitch of the prop on a failed engine to reduce drag and make the aircraft more maneuverable.

The investigation continues. According to NTSB media guidance, preliminary reports are usually available after about two weeks. The final report can take as much as one to two years to be released.

Although the preliminary report contains no speculation about the cause of the crash, it does include this information:

--Maintenance records for the Cessna 414 included an invoice dated July 20. The invoice "was noted to include multiple maintenance discrepancies with the airplane that were not resolved within that work order."

One of the discrepancies was a right-hand tachometer, a gauge that monitors an engine's revolutions per minute, that "is not indicating." The Cessna's airframe, propellers and engines underwent an annual inspection April 1.

--After the crash, investigators found the Cessna's right engine had a total of five fractured valve springs in three cylinders. The valve springs were shipped to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C. The report makes no conclusion about whether the damage occurred before or as a result of the plane's impact.

"Examination of the left engine revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures," according to the report.

--The report quotes the Cessna 414 Owners Manual: "The most critical time for an engine failure in a multi-engine aircraft is during a two or three second period late in the takeoff run while the aircraft is accelerating to a safe engine failure speed."

And it quotes from Cessna Pilot Safety and Warning Supplements: "Each time a pilot considers a takeoff in a twin-engine airplane, knowledge is required of the Minimum Control Speed (VMC) for that particular airplane. Knowledge of this speed, is essential to ensure safe operation of the airplane in the event an engine power loss occurs during the most critical phases of flight, the takeoff and initial climb."