NTSB: Aircraft Broke Up Aloft

TYRINGHAM -- The private plane that crashed in Tyringham on July 9 "broke up in flight" in severe weather, according to a preliminary report released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The pilot and his passenger, both from the coastal Maine area en route to Hudson, N.Y., were killed when the plane crashed on private property off George Cannon Road, around 8:16 a.m.

Contact with Hartford's Airport

The NTSB report, by Atlanta-based investigator Eric Ellayne, indicates that pilot Gregg Hartley, 54, was in contact with air traffic controllers at Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn., minutes before he flew into a thunderstorm.

According to the report, at 7:48 a.m., Hartley reported to Bradley controllers that he was flying at about 6,000 feet, and a few minutes later, he reported light precipitation "but nothing at the moment" by way of weather problems.

The controller advised the pilot that "extreme precipitation was off at the right side about seven miles, heading your way at 30 knots."

At 8 a.m., the controller advised all aircraft about "hazardous weather" for the area.

Report of trouble

At 8:07 a.m., Hartley reported that he was "getting into it pretty good over here," and asked to divert to the south.

The controller approved the deviation from the original flight path, and asked Hartley to contact him when he was back on course.

At 8:08 a.m., the controller asked for a report on conditions.

"Severe," Hartley replied.

The controller asked Hartley if he was able to maintain altitude, because radar showed he was descending. Shortly thereafter, radio and radar contact was lost.

Radio contact had been lost about 12 miles south of Chester, and it was at 8:16 a.m. when local police received a 911 call of a plane down in Tyringham. The crash area was about 10 miles southwest of the last radio contact.

Investigators found wreckage scattered over an area up to three-quarters of a mile long.

Yesterday, Ellayne said the preliminary report involves gathering all data pertaining to the flight, the airplane and the pilot.

A final "probable cause" for the crash is determined by NTSB investigators in Washington, D.C., he said.

Asked what might cause a plane to "break apart" in flight, he replied that the causes can be multiple, depending on the condition of the plane, pilot experience, weather conditions and a variety of other factors.

"But planes fly through storms all the time, so we have to look at all the data," he said. "There are a series of things that lead up to an accident."

Hartley and his passenger, Timothy Ladd, 59, left Wiscasset Airport in Wiscasset, Maine, at 6 a.m. on July 9, according to the report.

The plane was registered by Hartley Marine Corp., a Boothbay Harbor, Maine, company providing tug, towing and marine services along the east coast.

According to published reports in the Portland (Maine) Press Herald, Hartley and Ladd were traveling on business.

Ellen G. Lahr can be reached at [email protected] .