Pilot who crashed into Maryland power lines flew too low in foggy skies, NTSB says
The pilot who crashed a small plane into Maryland power lines last month — knocking out power to thousands — was repeatedly warned he was flying too low, National Transportation Safety Board investigators say.
The board’s found the Nov. 27 incident occurred because pilot Patrick Merkle — who had taken off from White Plains — was at a low altitude in foggy conditions as he approached the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg.
“N201RF, if you hear this transmission, low altitude alert,” said a controller from Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control, according to CNN.
Merkle and passenger Jan Williams were seriously hurt in the crash which left the plane dangling for six hours in live power lines 100 feet in the air. Tens of thousands of people lost power because of the crash.
Merkle reportedly made a wrong turn after an air traffic instructor explained how to approach.
While trying to get back on course, Merkle made a “series of left and right turns, near course reversals, or continued established headings as the controller repeatedly requested that the pilot turn to a different heading.”
Before crashing, the plane dipped as low as 530 feet below the minimum altitude about two miles from the airport and an air traffic controller repeatedly warned Merkle was too low.
“I got down a little lower than I should have … I thought I was closer to the airport than I was … We could see the ground, but we couldn’t see in front,” Merkle told a 911 dispatcher while waiting to be rescued.
The NTSB tested the plane’s altimeter, which measures altitude, and found it was functioning properly.
With News Wire Services
