The NTSB determined that a fatal plane crash near Grand Meadow, which killed pilot Philip Ray Edgington, was caused by inadequate flight instruments for the poor weather conditions and the pilot's failure to maintain control while maneuvering around a wind farm at low altitude. The 1948 Cessna 140 was not equipped for instrument flight, despite IFR conditions being forecasted, leading to the crash in a snow-covered field.
The NTSB determined that a fatal plane crash near Grand Meadow, which killed pilot Philip Ray Edgington, was caused by inadequate flight instruments for the poor weather conditions and the pilot's failure to maintain control while maneuvering around a wind farm at low altitude. The 1948 Cessna 140 was not equipped for instrument flight, despite IFR conditions being forecasted, leading to the crash in a snow-covered field.
A small plane crashed a year ago near Grand Meadow, killing the pilot, because it didn’t have the proper flight instruments for flying in that day’s poor weather, a federal agency says.
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering around a wind farm at a low altitude also was a factor, according to a National Transportation Safety Board probable-cause report released last week. The plane did not strike any wind turbines.
Philip Ray Edgington, 54 — an American Airlines pilot from Sanger, Texas — died in the Feb. 8, 2008, crash. His 1948 Cessna 140 wasn’t equipped to fly under instrument flight rules, the NTSB reported. An active advisory for IFR conditions was forecasted at the time across the region, including …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A small plane crashed a year ago near Grand Meadow, killing the pilot, because it didn’t have the proper flight instruments for flying in that day’s poor weather, a federal agency says.
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering around a wind farm at a low altitude also was a factor, according to a National Transportation Safety Board probable-cause report released last week. The plane did not strike any wind turbines.
Philip Ray Edgington, 54 — an American Airlines pilot from Sanger, Texas — died in the Feb. 8, 2008, crash. His 1948 Cessna 140 wasn’t equipped to fly under instrument flight rules, the NTSB reported. An active advisory for IFR conditions was forecasted at the time across the region, including low ceilings or clouds and visibility restrictions in light snow, mist or haze, as well as an active advisory for moderate icing conditions.
Under IFR conditions, pilots are supposed to rely on instruments to navigate and maintain control of the plane.
Edgington bought the vintage plane in New Richmond, Wis., on the same day of the crash. He was en route to a family event later that afternoon in Missouri, the report says.
"The pilot had obtained three weather briefings before departing on the accident flight, all of which forecasted that IFR conditions would exist along the planned route," the report says. "The airplane was not equipped for instrument flight."
The official cause of Edgington’s death was multiple blunt force injuries.
The plane crashed into a picked, snow-covered bean field southwest of Grand Meadow near Mower County Road 13 and 730th Avenue.
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How it happened
Using track data, investigators concluded that the Cessna 140 was flying Feb. 8, 2008, between 300 and 600 feet above ground level near Grand Meadow when it encountered a wind farm with several 400-foot-tall wind turbines. The plane then made a 90-degree turn, followed by a figure-eight turn at varying altitudes between 800 and 1,500 feet above ground level.
The plane crashed in a field, leaving a 300-foot-long trail of debris and plane fragments.