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| | Wednesday, February 16 | |||||
| LEESBURG, Ky. -- Icy conditions and pilot inexperience could have contributed to the plane crash which killed race-car owner Tony Bettenhausen, his wife and two business associates.
Bettenhausen reported ice on the wings and windshield of his
small plane minutes before it plunged thousands of feet, crashed
and burned in a Kentucky farm field.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator David Muzio
refused to place blame for the accident, but said Bettenhausen had
told an air traffic controller of the icing and asked permission to climb.
Minutes later, the plane, which had been flying level, fell at a
rate of 6,000-9,000 feet per minute. A fire after the crash late
Monday morning consumed most of the airplane carrying Bettenhausen;
his wife, Shirley; Russ Roberts, a partner in Bettenhausen's racing
team; and Larry Rangel, an Indiana businessman.
Bettenhausen, 48, was returning to his Indianapolis home from
race testing in Florida. Muzio said a preliminary report on the
accident could be available as early as Monday.
Bettenhausen's inexperience as a pilot also could have been a
factor. An FAA official in Indianapolis said Bettenhausen had been
certified to operate a twin-engine aircraft in December. Brad
Stevens, an executive with Bettenhausen Motorsports, said
Bettenhausen had flown single-engine planes for about five years
and had purchased the twin-engine Beech Baron 58 about eight months
ago. Stevens said Bettenhausen had been taking private flight
instruction in the Baron 58 before he was certified, but it was
unclear Wednesday how much flying time he had accumulated.
Ron Swanda, vice president of operations for the General
Aviation Manufacturers Association, said pilot inexperience is
often a factor in accidents.
"Generally, zero to 100 hours is the most hazardous time" for
pilots mastering a new type of plane, he said. Pilots who had
accumulated less than 100 hours of flight time were involved in
about 20 percent of all accidents in Baron 58s, Swanda said, citing
a study by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Since 1996,
the NTSB has investigated 13 fatal accidents in which 42 people died in Baron 58s. | ALSO SEE Partners: Bettenhausen would want team to keep racing Plane crash kills ex-Indy car driver Bettenhausen  | |||||