Report suggests engine failure not a factor in Easton crash

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By David Abel, Globe Staff

A preliminary report by federal investigators suggests that engine failure was not the cause of a plane crash earlier this month in Easton that killed a cancer patient, his wife, and the pilot.

The three-page report released today by the National Transportation Safety Board does not offer an explanation for why the four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza plunged into the parking lot of a Hannaford’s supermarket.

But the report cites a pilot-rated witness who said he observed the plane spinning as it descended vertically out of the clouds. "The witness added that the engine was running with a constant sound prior to impact, and that there was no missing or sputtering," the report stated.

Peter Knudson, an NTSB spokesman, said investigators would not issue their conclusions about the cause of the crash for about nine months. Possible causes include pilot error, instrument failure, or spatial disorientation, given the thick cloud cover the morning of Aug. 12.

“The investigator will continue to gather information about the entire flight operation, and as he develops more factual information, that will narrow the focus of the investigation,” Knudson said.

Robert and Donna Gregory of Riverhead, N.Y., and pilot Joe E. Baker of Brookfield, Conn., were killed in the crash. The Gregorys were traveling from Westhampton, N.Y., to Boston so Robert Gregory could get treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The flight was arranged by Angel Flight New England, a nonprofit that helps passengers travel for medical treatment.

The report said there was no rain or serious wind gusts in the area at the time of the crash, but the cloud ceiling was as low as 800 feet.

Baker lost control of the plane while trying to connect with Logan International Airport’s localizer, a device that provides guidance to aircraft using instruments to land. The plane rapidly fluctuated in altitude. It dropped from 5,000 feet to a dangerous 1,200 feet and then ascended to 2,700 feet before falling off the radar screens of air-traffic controllers, according to the report.

“Your altitude is going up and down,” an air-traffic controller radioed Baker. “Are [you] alright sir?”

There was no response.

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