Report Also Cites Lighting, Fog

A National Transportation Safety Board report issued this week says pilot error was likely the cause of a February 22, 2006 accident that killed four people at a Stafford County, VA airport.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the NTSB's Probable Cause report also cites fog and lighting conditions as factors. The report does not name the pilot, due to ongoing litigation by the families of the passengers.

An attorney for the family of the plane's owner, Richard Potter, disagrees Potter was at the controls of the airplane, according to the newspaper. A fourth passenger, Albert "Buck" Jacoby, was also an instrument rated pilot.

However, a plaintiff lawyer noted Potter owned the new Lancair Columbia 400 (file photo of type, above) and is believed to have been the one handling radio transmissions during the return flight from North Carolina. That doesn't necessarily mean he was PIC, but he was in one of the front seats.

The NTSB notes the flight had been diverted from its original destination, after the pilot went missed after attempting a night GPS approach to Shannon Airport in poor weather. The pilot then attempted an ILS approach to Stafford Regional Airport around 11:40 pm.

That attempt was also unsuccessful... and the NTSB states the pilot failed to execute a correct missed-approach procedure, instead diverting into a wooded area about three quarters of the way down and to the left of the 5,000 feet-long runway. No evidence of mechanical failure was noted.

Also killed in the crash were Graham Green III, 57, and Michael Gus Pappas, 47, a real estate investor. Their families have each filed $10 million lawsuits against Potter's estate.

FMI: Read The Full Probable Cause Report