The National Transportation Safety Board released new photos and indicated in investigative documents released Thursday that there were no issues with the engines nor other parts of the Cessna that crashed on landing with Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife, his daughter and his dog aboard Aug. 15 in Elizabethton, Tenn.
Earnhardt Jr. was holding his 16-month-old daughter when his plane bounced twice on the runway before skidding and eventually catching fire. One of his pilots kicked open the main cabin door enough for everyone to escape and a former member of the U.S. Air Force who witnessed the crash rushed to Earnhardt’s aid when seeing him on the ground.
The NTSB released 256 pages of investigative documents Thursday, which signals it is close to ending its investigation into the fiery crash that caused a minor injury to Earnhardt’s back. It has not set a date for release of a final report and the determination of a probable cause.
The documents indicate that while the final approach was a little fast, the primary issue was the pilots were unable to abort the landing after the second bounce because thrust reversers were already engaged, keeping Earnhardt’s pilots Jeff Milton and Richard Pope from being able to throttle the airplane to get back in the air and land again.
See much more at Fox Sports.
See all the additional information on the NTSB website.
A direct link to all images is available here.