The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report into a Western Kentucky plane crash that killed two people. The crash killed the flight instructor, 22-year-old Timothy McKellar, Jr., and 18-year-old student pilot, Connor Quisenberry, late on the evening of September 27, 2023.
A recording of the Piper PA-28's flight path from FlightAware.com shows the student and instructor performed two takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern at the Bowling Green-Woodhurst Airport before departing northwest toward the Owensboro/Daviess County Regional Airport around 9:55 p.m.
About 20 minutes later, the NTSB report says, the instructor posted a photo to social media of his in-flight navigation software showing storms approaching their flight path.
About 30 minutes later, at 10:44 p.m., the NTSB says the pilot contacted air traffic control. The controller told him there was heavy-to-extreme rain to the west and the instructor requested an IFR clearance. That clearance would allow them to fly in reduced visibility.
The NTSB says the controller then tried to give the instructor directions to get out of the weather by flying east. The instructor told the controller they were "getting blown around like crazy" and that they were in "pretty extreme turbulence." That was the last communication from the flight.
The FlightAware tracklog shows fluctuations in altitude, ground speed, and ground track as the airplane lost control. The NTSB says the debris field was spread across 25 acres of dense, hilly woods.
The crash has been the subject of some scrutiny across the aviation community. The navigation screenshot the NTSB released was part of a Snapchat story reportedly posted by the instructor throughout that evening. A Flying Magazine article describes the instructor shaming the student in the Snapchat video and questions his decision to continue toward those storms.
A preliminary report does not include a probable cause. The NTSB typically takes one to two years to complete their investigations and issue a final report.
