The small plane that crashed earlier this month at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, killing everyone on board, had its engine replaced only a couple of months earlier, according to federal officials.
A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board said the 1978 Cessna 210′s original engine had recently been changed out and the conversion was completed July 19.
Four people died in the fiery crash Oct. 8, including two teenagers.
According to the report, “the engine had accumulated 2.3 hours since overhaul.” The previous airframe had accumulated about 1,390 total hours, the report said.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
An airport security surveillance video showed the airplane lifting off about 1,000 feet before it rolled left, flipped upside down and crashed nose first next to the runway, according to the report.
Jonathan Rosen, 47, the plane’s pilot and owner, died in the crash, as did his 14-year-old daughter Allison. Lauren Harrington, 42, and Julia Smith, 13, were also on the plane, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Daniel Boggs, air safety investigator for the NTSB who is leading the probe of the crash, said he believed the passengers were on a personal family trip to Houston.
“We’ll be looking at the weight of the aircraft. We’ll be looking at the engine,” he said. “We’ll be looking at the servicing. We’ll be looking at the qualifications of the pilot.”
— Staff writer Tamar Hallerman contributed to this article.
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