The investigation into the Oct. 5 plane crash that killed a Florida doctor has centered around the type of fuel given to the plane.
According to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board, several of the engine spark plugs suffered damage that was “consistent with detonation.”
The report states a Kokomo Muncipal Airport employee asked the pilot, Dr. Daniel P. Greenwald, 59, of Tampa, Florida, two separate times if he wanted jet fuel for his twin-engine Piper Aerostar 602P because, according to the employee, the plane “looked like a jet airplane.” Both times, the report states, Greenwald told the airport employee “yes.”
The employee, according to the report, initially spilled a gallon of fuel but after an adjustment, spillage was kept to a minimum. The adjustment made was orientating the jet fuel nozzle in an unique way in order to get it to fit.
Another airport employee who was inside the operator building reported he heard the plane start at around 4:20 p.m. and that the engine of Greenwald’s Aerostar sounded “typical.” The report also states the employee inside the operator building did not hear any radio transmissions from Greenwald during takeoff.
Greenwald’s plane would crash at around 5 p.m. just south of Ind. 22. He was the only person aboard. According to the report, a clear liquid “consistent in color and order with that of Jet A” fuel was found in the fuel lines and manifolds of both of the plane’s engines.
The NTSB’s final report is yet to be released.
———
©2019 the Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Ind.)
Visit the Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Ind.) at www.kokomotribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
