ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The preliminary report on the Jan. 31 plane crash at Merrill Field Airport was released by the National Transportation Safety Board, detailing the moments that led up the incident that left one person hospitalized with injuries.
The report states there were two people on board the plane, a Piper PA-22-150, at the time: a pilot and the passenger. The pilot was unharmed, but the passenger sustained “potentially serious injuries.”
According to the pilot, the plane had an “uneventful” flight to Merrill Field from Kenai Municipal Airport earlier in the evening. After the pilot and passenger had dinner, they returned to the plane to depart.
Shortly after takeoff, the report says the plane experienced a loss of engine power. An illustration of the flight shows a path taking the aircraft above the nearby 5th Avenue roadway and curving back to the south…