Cause of 2021 plane crash that killed 6 near Tahoe determined by NTSB. Here’s what happened
The cause of a 2021 plane crash in California’s Tahoe area that killed all six people on board has been revealed as pilot error, federal transportation authorities said, though whether the captain or copilot ultimately had control of the aircraft remains unknown.
A Bombardier jet that carried six passengers from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Truckee on July 26, 2021, crashed due to errors by its two pilots, according to a final investigation report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board.
When coming up on a runway at the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, the captain determined that it was too short for how heavy of a plane he was flying, the report said. The captain decided to circle to land in a different, longer runway. The plane was a Bombardier Challenger 600 series, which is roughly 41,000 pounds.
Coming up on the second runway, the airplane’s speed was 44 knots (51 mph) above the landing reference speed of 118 knots (136 mph) that the flight crew had calculated earlier in the flight, officials said.
“I’m gonna get your speed under control for you,” the first officer told the captain, according to the NTSB report.
The first officer, alternatively referred to in the report as the copilot, repeatedly asked for control of the plane, the investigation found. A flight crew member never verbalized a positive transfer of control as required by the general operating manual, authorities said.
The NTSB said it could not determine who had control of the airplane following these requests.
As the airplane crossed the runway’s center line, the first officer noted the airplane was too high, documents said. One of the pilots, though the investigation could not determine which, fully deployed flight spoilers to increase the airplane’s sink rate. Flight spoilers can be deployed with a lever accessible to both pilots, the board said.
The plane’s speed at this point was 17 knots (20 mph) above the landing reference speed. The left bank became steeper, and a protection system engaged about 7 seconds later, according to the board’s report.
“What are you doing?” the captain asked the first officer, the report said.
“Let (me) have the airplane,” the first officer asked repeatedly.
The airplane then entered a rapid left roll and crashed. A fire consumed most of the wreckage, the report said.
The board said the probable cause of the accident was first officer’s “improper decision” to attempt to save a poor approach with a steep left turn, and the captain’s failure to intervene. Both the pilot and first officer reportedly ignored protection system warnings, the NTSB said.
Six people died in 2021 plane crash
The six occupants were identified in 2021 by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office as: Thomas Ebaugh, 56, of Lakeville, Minnesota; married couple Ryan and Christine Thomas, 38 and 33, respectively, of La Quinta; Kevin Kvarnlov, 34, of Mendota Heights, Minnesota; Alberto Montero De Collado De La Rosa, 43, of Mexico; and John Dunn, 62, of Dallas.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson at the time identified the two pilots as Ebaugh and Montero De Collado De La Rosa.
The NTSB report does not name either pilot but indicates that the 43-year-old, Montero De Collado De La Rosa, was flying as the captain and that the 56-year-old, Ebaugh, was flying as the copilot.
The report showed that Montero De Collado De La Rosa had 5,680 total lifetime hours of flight time and that Ebaugh had 14,308 hours.
The Thomases were the founders of a California-based real estate agency called Hideaway Properties; Kvarnlov was an associate at the agency.
