MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - A preliminary investigation report says there is no evidence that flight controls malfunctioned on a plane that crashed into a communications tower antenna near Coopers Rock last month, killing the pilot.
WBOY-TV says the National Transportation Safety Board report shows Richard Lambert of Columbus, Ohio, had more than 22,000 hours of flight experience.
Lambert was flying to Morgantown after dropping off three passengers at a western Pennsylvania resort when the Hawker Beechcraft BE90 lost altitude.
The report says the plane's engine propeller struck the communications tower's antenna, and the aircraft then broke apart. The wreckage was scattered in the woods near the tower.
The plane was built in 2006 and had nearly 1,440 hours of operation before the June 22 crash.
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