Crash investigation continues

SHINE - Investigators today are trying to determine what caused a passenger airplane to crash in a field off Oakdale Drive, killing two people.

The plane went down Thursday afternoon in a field about 100 yards behind a row of houses. The victims have still not been identified.

Dennis Diaz, an air safey investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the craft, a Lancair IV-P, was flying from Fort Meyers, Fla., to Hartford, Conn. The flight was scheduled to take about five hours.

Diaz said preliminary reports show the craft first having problems at 15,000. Communications between the craft and a flight tower indicated ice may have built up on the wings.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration's Greensboro office are on the scene, Diaz said.

The investigation will include examining air traffic control communications, weather conditions, plane flight logs, the pilot's background, and plane's maintenance history.

Diaz said preliminary report on fatal plane crash will be available on the NTSB Web site in about 10 days. The investigation is expected to be completed in nine months, and 60 days later a probable cause of the plane crash will be issued, he said.

Check back with Kinston.com or see Saturday's Free Press for more details.