Local pilots want to learn from NTSB investigation into Colonie plane crash

The NTSB’s findings on Monday’s Colonie plane crash will be of valuable value to the local aviation community.

The NTSB investigation could take up to two years.

The results will be significant for local pilots like Dave Prescott, owner of the Prescott Foundation, who has decades of flying experience, including on the same Piper PA-21 Navajo that crashed.

He analyzed the pilot’s flight map. He said pilots have guidelines for speed and altitude that they are supposed to follow during takeoff. In his opinion, the flight appeared to miss those guidelines during Monday’s flight before crashing in Colonie minutes after takeoff.

“I’m usually 1,000 feet or higher in many of these positions than she was at that time,” Prescott said. “I’ll wait for feedback from the NTSB on what might have happened or what might have caused her not to ascend during the flight.”

The NTSB is taking the plane to a secure facility in Massachusetts, where the agency will examine video footage and impact evidence to determine whether the engines still had power.

His results currently confirm what Prescott saw from the flight path.

“This type of flight path is typical of an extreme loss of control situation,” said Lynn Spencer, NTSB aviation safety investigator.