NTSB Determines Cause of Fatal 2016 Wyoming Plane Crash
WORLAND, Wyo. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says pilot error is likely to blame for a December 2016 plane crash in central Wyoming that killed the pilot and injured a passenger.
According to the NTSB report, investigators said the "pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact on terrain."
The NTSB found the aircraft in good working order with no major mechanical problems.
The pilot, 34-year-old Grant E. Belden, of Thermopolis, was killed in the crash.
Belden was employed with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and was on a routine animal damage management patrol.
Another APHIS employee was a passenger and survived.