The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary findings after a plane crash in Nashville, Tenn. exactly one week ago that killed a Windsor pilot.

Last Tuesday, a Cessna 172 F registered to the Windsor Flying Club crashed in the early morning hours, killing 45-year-old Michael Callan.

The NTSB says between 2 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. local time (CDT), the plane was destroyed when it impacted runway 2C while attempting a landing at the Nashville International Airport.

The report adds that 'instrument meteorological conditions' were in place at the time, indicating weather requiring pilots to use instruments while flying, rather than visual flight rules.

Investigators say the flight originated at the Windsor airport and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed which listed the destination airport as Pelee Island Airport.

The report explains that according to the flying club’s manager, the pilot signed the club’s authorization sheet with his destination listed as Pelee Island, and Transportation Canada confirms the pilot closed that flight plan around 8:30 p.m.

It goes on to say that the pilot did not file any additional flight plans and a preliminary review of air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed no communication between air traffic control and the pilot.

Personnel at the Nasvhille airport reportedly inspected the airfield around 2 a.m. but found nothing unusual at runway 2C, but around 8:45 a.m. a taxiing airplane reported debris on the runway and that's when the wreckage was discovered.

According to the NTSB report the sequence of events of the crash included;

  • airplane impacted runway 2C and skidded nearly 140 metres before coming to a stop east of the runway
  • a fire started over 65 metres after the initial impact point and continued to the main wreckage
  • all flight control surfaces were accounted for at the scene and continuity was confirmed
  • the airplane came to rest upright and the cabin and cockpit were consumed by fire
  • the propeller assembly was found about 120 metres from the initial impact point, with both propeller blades exhibiting impact damage
  • the engine was located more than 200 metres from the initial impact point

The NTSB says the preliminary report is subject to change and may contain errors that will be corrected when the final report has been completed.