MARIENVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary Aviation Investigation Report detailing initial findings about a December 29th plane crash that killed a Winber man.
John S. Burley, 59, was piloting an experimental Zenith STOL CH 701 airplane from Erie International Airport en route to Johnstown when his plane was mysteriously lost at 9:56 p.m. on December 29, 2023.
Forest County Coroner Norman J. Wimer was summoned by Pennsylvania State Police to the crash scene on Sunday morning December 31, arriving on-scene at approximately 10:15 a.m. A pilot himself, Wimer said the aircraft, while designated as experimental, was “very air-worthy.”
According to the NTSB, the airplane crashed onto wooded terrain within the Allegheny National Forest. The initial point of impact was the top of a 70 ft-tall hardwood tree. The airplane continued at a 60° descent angle until the main wreckage lodged into another hardwood tree.
Both wings and the main landing gear separated during impact. All structural components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The aircraft did not catch fire.
The wreckage path was about 65 feet long and about 25 feet wide, said the NTSB report.
Burley, a private pilot, was fatally injured.
According to the report, Burley was not an instrument-rated pilot, and the airplane was not authorized for flight in instrument conditions. Near the time of the crash, there was an overcast ceiling at 800 feet above the ground. Flying under visual flight rules, as Burley was rated, was prohibited under such conditions.
Burley’s plane was equipped with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) transponder, which allowed investigators to see Burley’s flight path.
The report states that Burley departed runway 24 at Erie International Airport (ERI) at about 8:58 p.m. on December 29th, destined for the John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County Airport (JST) in Johnstown, Pa.
The flight proceeded in an easterly direction, then turned southeasterly toward JST. At the time of the accident, the flight was operating under visual flight rules.
About 90 seconds before the last recorded ADS-B broadcast, the airplane began to turn left at about 1,300 above ground level. The turn continued and tightened until the last broadcast at 9:56 p.m. At that time, the plane was flying at approximately 1,400 feet above the ground.
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