WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. – The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report that points to a possible cause of a deadly floatplane crash in Puget Sound in September.
About 85% of the plane’s wreckage has been recovered from the crash site off Whidbey Island.
The report points to the horizontal stabilizer actuator of the aircraft, which was found to be separated by unthreading and not by impact.
A wire lock ring used to keep the pieces from unthreading was also not found.
The actuator allows the pilot to adjust the horizontal stabilizer, and its failure could lead to loss of control of the aircraft.
The discovery has lead the NTSB to issue an inspection order for the component on all operators of this type of plane.
All ten people on board were killed when the plane crashed into Mutiny Bay on September 4th.
