Piper Malibu's Radar Track Shows 7,000 FPM Dive

A Piper Malibu that crashed in Colorado back on January 9, 2011 was last tracked by radar in a descent of more than 7,000 feet per minute. The revelation came Tuesday from NTSB Investigator Jason Aguilera. The accident claimed the lives of 66-year-old Dr. Michael Welton, a urologist who practiced in Waterloo, Iowa, and 70-year-old passenger Roswitha Marold, described to KCRG-TV as Welton's long-time girlfriend.

The couple was flying from the Phoenix area to Pueblo at the time of the accident. The NTSB says it has determined that the Malibu (similar plane pictured) descended quickly from 25,000 feet to 14,200, climbed back to 19,200, then entered the rapid descent caught on radar records. Pireps for moderate icing were received at the time, but Aguilera tells the Associated Press he was unable to determine whether the plane had accumulated ice, and that the cause is more likely to be a loss of control by the pilot than winds or turbulence.

The NTSB's final report on probable cause may yet be months away.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov