Mechanical failure reported before plane crash that killed former Miss. state senator
A preliminary report by federal aviation investigators indicates mechanical failure in a small airplane's autopilot system caused the crash that killed a former Mississippi state senator May 17 near Winslow, Arkansas, in Washington County.
John Morgan, 76, was killed when the eight-passenger airplane he piloted crashed in thick woods between Brentwood and Winslow.
After a helicopter crew saw debris and a ground crew found the wreckage about 3:40 p.m., Morgan's body was taken to the state laboratory in Little Rock to confirm his identity, the Washington County Sheriff Department posted on Facebook.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves posted on Twitter that Morgan, a state senator from 1984-1992, loved the University of Mississippi and state politics.
The preliminary report was released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to the preliminary report, about 12:35 p.m., May 17, the Beech E-90 airplane, N522MJ, wasdestroyed when it was involved in an accident near Winslow, Arkansas.
Before the crash, Morgan had contacted an avionics repair facility at Drake Field Airport, Fayetteville, (FYV) to discuss autopilot issues he was having with the airplane.
Morgan told the avionics technician that when that the autopilot would place the airplane into a steep left bank when engaged in the heading hold mode. The technician had the pilot perform ground checks of the autopilot system with no discrepancies noted. He then had the pilot perform a maintenance flight in visual flight rules conditions to test the autopilot system.
Morgan also told told the technician that during the test flight, the airplane still entered a left roll and he disengaged the autopilot once a 40-degree bank was reached. The technician advised the pilot that he would need to bring the airplane in for service and to not utilize the autopilot during the flight. The pilot planned to fly the airplane to Fayetteville and leave it at the avionics facility for maintenance, according to the preliminary report.
The flight originated from the University-Oxford Airport (UOX), Oxford, Mississippi, about 11:25 a.m., and then flew on a direct course toward Fayetteville. The airplane climbed to 16,000 feet and remained there until 12:21 p.m.when a descent was initiated, the report states.
The descent continued to 8,000 feet when the airplane leveled briefly before descending again.
The airplane continued on a straight path toward Fayetteville until 12:30 p.m. when the airplane made a turn to the left at about 6,100 feet.
The airplane continued descending to about 3,525 feet, then climbed back up to 3,950 feet. When it had reached 3,950 feet it began a right turn, presumably to intercept the inbound approach course, but the airplane continued in the right turn and dropped. The airplane impacted wooded terrain, descending through an opening in the tree canopy.
Based on the damage found by crews on the ground to the surrounding trees and the airplane damage, the descent was near vertical, the report states.
Both engines and propellers were embedded in the terrain, and the entire airplane was fragmented.
All major airframe and flight control surfaces were identified in the immediate vicinity of the impact location. The airplane wreckage was retained for further examination.
The full report on the accident will be completed by NTSB.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Airplane had mechanical issue before crash in Arkansas on May 17
