EDITORS NOTE: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect name for the town where the plane crashed.
More information has been released about the November 2023 plane crash that killed Nathan Finney, a restaurateur who owned eateries around Indiana.
Pilot Warren Bruhl, who was teaching Finney to fly his new plane, also died in the crash.
The Herald-Times reported Friday on the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. Here’s what we know. Read the full story here .
What happened in the plane crash?
NTSB’s preliminary report, which includes evidence from the crash site and a witness’s account, said a safety feature of the small plane wasn’t deployed.
Finney’s plane was equipped with a parachute system that a pilot can engage by pulling a handle. When used in many circumstances, the system causes the plane to coast to the ground instead of crashing.
A witness saw the plane flying very low when it took a sharp turn and “seemed to lose all control.” The witness saw the plane descend behind a tree line, and then saw “a fireball and thick black smoke.”