ATLANTA — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its first report on the plane crash that killed four people on Interstate I-285 on May 8.
The preliminary report reveals more details about the moments leading up to the crash. The pilot radioed air traffic controllers to say he was struggling to gain altitude, authorities said.
"Ground control instructed the pilot to taxi for runway 3R, via bravo, hold short 3L, and the pilot read back the instructions correctly. The pilot then contacted the tower controller informing them that he was holding short 3L and ready. The tower controller instructed the pilot to "fly heading 360 and cleared for takeoff." The pilot then questioned the controller regarding which runway to take off from and the controller cleared the pilot for takeoff from runway 3L. Approximately two minutes after departure the tower controller called the pilot to verify heading. The pilot responded "zero-two-victor, I'm having some problem climbing here." Followed by "zero-two-victor; were going down here at the intersection." This was the last transmission made by the pilot."
The newly-released report does not give an official cause for the crash. A final report is not expected for several months.
Shortly after takeoff, a witness who was about 2,300 feet from the departure end of the runway said the airplane was moving "extremely slow" as it flew about 75 to 100 feet over his head, the report states.
Scars across the pavement of four lanes of busy I-285 were found by investigators. They ended at a concrete highway divider, where the wreckage was found. The plane had stopped at the airport just north of Atlanta and was heading to Oxford, Mississippi, when it crashed, authorities have said.
The victims were identified as Christopher, Phillip, and Greg Byrd, and Jackie Kulzer. The pilot, Greg Byrd, was a retired Buncombe County, North Carolina deputy, and father to Phillip and Christopher.
Christopher and Jackie were engaged. Jackie is a graduate of St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta.
The plane grazed the hood of a semitrailer on the freeway — one of Georgia's busiest stretches of highway — but no one on the ground was seriously hurt.