LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal agency says pilot failure caused a small plane to crash at a western Omaha airport, fatally injuring the pilot and his wife.
The fiery crash occurred May 27 last year at Millard Airport after the small plane flown by 63-year-old David Steier and 61-year-old Arlene Steier lifted off. They lived in Omaha.
A National Transportation Safety Board report filed earlier this month says the plane ran left off the runway as it headed for takeoff. The report says the plane crossed a grass median onto a taxiway and struck several light structures before returning to the runway. It became airborne but then appeared to stall. The left wing hit the ground, and the plane cartwheeled and caught fire.
The board concluded that the pilot’s “loss of directional control and his failure to abort the takeoff” resulted in the crash.
