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Investigation: Hendrick crash linked to crew error
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Associated Press
Posted: 3 hours ago
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/5313696
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) - Flight crew errors probably caused a 2004 Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that killed 10 people with ties to one of NASCAR's top racing families, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
The crew improperly read instruments and missed a landing approach to Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, Va., the NTSB said in a report synopsis e-mailed to The Associated Press. The Beech King Air 200 crashed into fog-shrouded Bull Mountain in the foothills of the Appalachians on Oct. 24, 2004.
The crash killed the son, brother and two nieces of Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick.
"Contributing to the cause of the accident was the flight crew's failure to use all available navigational aids to confirm and monitor the airplane's position during the approach," NTSB said.
NTSB investigators said that the crew did not follow proper procedure in executing its approach to the airport and their actions following the missed approach.
NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said because the plane did not have cockpit voice recorder, it was "very difficult to tell what all was going on in the aircraft."
Williams said there was no indication of faulty instruments.
The final NTSB report will not be published for another three to four weeks.
Hendrick did not join the flight from Concord, N.C., to a race at Martinsville Speedway because he wasn't feeling well.
Excuse me, the PILOT is the Captain, period. Nice politically correct statement.