Investigators say the pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed at Roanoke Regional Airport in March reported locked controls a minute after he was cleared for takeoff.
In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board says Peter Sheeran reported that the Piper PA-46’s wheel controls were locked. An air traffic controller then cleared Sheeran to land on any runway.
The report says a witness told authorities the plane was moving slowly, “rocking a little left and right.” It began to bank to the right and hit a wire shortly afterward.
The plane then hit a UPS Freight building.
Sheeran was killed and a passenger, John Whitmer, was injured in the March 30 crash.
The accident remains under investigation.
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