Hartsburg plane crash detailed in NTSB preliminary report | Mid-Missouri News [Video]

A small plane descended about 16,000 feet before it crashed into a wooden area in Hartsburg, killing its pilot on April 16, according to a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 

The single-engine Piper PA-46 plane crashed several hundred yards off the roadway in a wooden area, in the 3000 block of Christian School Road, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.

The NTSB’s report, released Friday, says the tree canopy was “mostly undisturbed and the few tree limb breaks suggest a near-vertical impact with the ground,” suggesting the plane essentially nose-dived. 

The report confirmed the plane departed from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, at 9:51 a.m. and was headed to Smith Field Airport (SLG) in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

The NTSB reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration’s flight track data, which showed the plane reached 16,000 feet mean sea level (msl) and was on a direct line …