NTSB: "It's A Little Bit Of Both"

A combination of factors including mechanical problems and pilot error caused the fatal crash of a Cessna 150 near Schaumburg (IL) one year ago, according to the NTSB. The crash killed 38-year old Mark Hsiao of Buffalo Grove (IL).

"It's a little bit of both," NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway told the Chicago Daily News. "The fact that he didn't maintain control may have caused the stall."

Hsiao was in the middle of a trip from Tracy (CA) to visit family. The Daily News reports it was the longest trip he'd made since receiving his pilot's certificate in 1996.

He kept his Cessna 150 at Schaumburg Regional Airport during his stay and was headed home July 8th when he ran into trouble.

From the NTSB report:

A witness, who was a flight instructor, stated that he saw the airplane take off and climb at a steep angle in what he described as a "short field takeoff." He said that the tail of the airplane dropped and the nose pitched upward into a "steep angle of attack." He said that he lost sight of the airplane behind some trees. He regained sight of the airplane. He said the airplane was in a "spin" in a nose down attitude. He stated that he heard the engine running.

The Cook County Sheriff's Police report contained a witness statement that said that the airplane turned toward the south at a steep pitch angle. That witness stated that the plane made a quick half turn and headed toward the ground. He lost sight of the airplane and then saw white smoke that turned to black smoke.

A Metra commuter train signal maintainer who was working in the area and heard the airplane impact the ground, stated: I ran to the plane to assist whoever was inside. I attempted to wake up the pilot but could not remove him due to his safety harness. There was a fire on the left side of the plane: I went to the right side of the plane and attempted to release the safety harness. The heat and flames became too intense and I had to move away from the plane.

The cause of the accident? The NTSB said:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows. The pilot not maintaining airplane control and the inadvertent stall he encountered during initial climb.

FMI: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=CHI03FA202&rpt=fi