PRELIMINARY REPORT INTO FATAL PLANE CRASH NEAR LINCOLN RELEASED

LOGAN CO., Ill. (WAND) – A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found there was no mechanical or weather issues that could have contributed to a fatal plane crash near Lincoln that killed three people on March 3, 2020.

According to the report, released on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the plane was owned by Synergy Flight Center out of Bloomington and was operated by the company’s chief pilot instructor, 22-year-old Mitchell W. Janssen of Princeville. Janssen was also a regional airline pilot, according to the report. Two other people, 33-year-old Matthew Hanson of Pulaski, Wisc., and 30-year-old Kevin G. Chapman of Urbana, were also on the flight.

The report said Synergy Flight Center told investigators that Janssen was flying with the two ecologists from Shoener Environmental to conduct “an aerial survey of (a) bald eagle nest near Lincoln” and were using cameras to document the nests.

“The purpose of the aerial survey was to aid in the environmental assessment of potential wind turbine installations in the area,” the report said.

The report from the NTSB said the flight took off at 8:04 a.m. from the Bloomington airport and headed towards Lincoln. Track data from the plane shows the pilot attempted to make a right-hand descending turn near a heavily wooded area near I-55 and the Kickapoo creek when it began losing altitude and speed. The plane was traveling about 57 miles per hour when tracking was lost about 8:46 a.m.

“A post-accident examination of the air frame and engine found no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures. The post-accident examination of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of a bird strike or snarge,” the report said.

The report from the NTSB also said weather data from the area at the time “found no evidence of low-level wind shear occurring near the accident site at the altitude the airplane was performing” the turn.

NTSB investigators included the definition of aerial work as defined by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation in its report and said “pilots performing aerial work are generally highly qualified and use excellent judgement. But, if something goes wrong, there is little time to recover".

Synergy Flight Center was not willing to provide a comment to WAND-TV regarding the NTSB’s report, but it did refer to a statement put out three days after the crash.