Four Lost When Plane Impacted Mountain

A probable cause ruling into a June 22 plane crash that claimed the lives of a pilot and three high school students near Newry, ME is still months away, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

Todd Gunther, from the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety, told the Central Maine Sun Journal the board continues to track leads, and investigate factors that may have played a role in the accident.

Officials say 24-year-old pilot William "Charlie" Weir was giving introductory flight lessons to three Lewiston High School students when the accident occurred, evidently as the plane was returning to land at Bethel Airport. The aircraft impacted a mountainside at just over 2,000 feet MSL.

According to the NTSB's Preliminary Report, conditions at nearby Berlin (NH) Municipal Airport (BML) shortly before the accident indicated VFR, with few clouds reported at 6,000 feet. The aircraft had just come out of its 100-hour inspection the day before the accident flight.

Investigators say the Cessna's engine was still running when the plane went down. The report also states there was no apparent evidence of a mechanical malfunction, and the cabin doors were closed and secured.

Weir was killed in the accident, along with Lewiston High School students Nicholas Babcock, 17; Teisha Loesberg, 16; and Shannon Fortier, 15. The students were part of a summer camp program organized by the school's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

The pilot worked for Twin Cities Air Service in Auburn, ME. According to FAA records, he held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings including airplane single-engine-land, airplane-multiengine-land, and instrument airplane. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued May 19, 2006, and his logbook showed 861 total hours flight experience.

Last summer's Newry crash was the first fatal accident for the Air Force's JROTC program nationwide.

Lt. Col. Robert Meyer, director of the JROTC at Lewiston High, said local program policy changes may be implemented based on the NTSB's final ruling. There is some discussion, he said, of the program using Civil Air Patrol pilots. Currently, pilots who take students on flights are required only to be certified flight instructors.

FMI: Read The NTSB Preliminary Report, www.lewiston.k12.me.us/~lhsweb