The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spent the day in Plano investigating a small plane crash that happened on Tuesday at around 6:00 p.m. The crash occurred in a shopping plaza off Midway Road and resulted in the death of an 87-year-old pilot. NBC 5’s Vince Sims has been at the scene with investigators and will provide the latest updates on the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board gave an update Wednesday morning into their investigation of the fatal plane crash that happened Tuesday evening in Plano.
NTSB investigators are gathering evidence from the scene and will be looking into the pilot, the pilot's flight history and weather conditions.
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"The history flight,” NTSB Aerosafety Investigator Brian Rutt said. “Pilot’s history. Pilot’s hours and etcetera."
They are not sure if any more information will come from the wreckage.
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"As far as a black box or flight data recorder we are looking to see if there are any data recorders on board this airplane,” Rutt said. “It's not required for this type of airplane."
The preliminary report should be available in about 15 days according to Rutt.
On Wednesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the identity of the pilot as 87-year-old Monroe McDonald.
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McDonald's family said the 87-year-old was making a flight he'd done countless times, flying from his home in Aguila, Arizona to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his sister's family in North Texas.
They said he grew up in Dallas, attended Highland Park High School and graduated from SMU.
He was an engineer with a passion for flying and had been doing so since the 1950s.
Phil Corman, a fellow pilot and Editor of the Mooney Flyer, said he came to know McDonald following nearly 100 flights together and through their shared love of vintage planes.
"He was pretty conscientious," said Corman. "He didn't think he knew everything, you know. And so he knew that flying was learning new stuff every day, you know, if you want to be a good pilot, and so that's why I kind of bonded with him. I respect pilots and owners that are like that."
The small plane crashed in Plano outside of a shopping center located at 6509 W. Park Blvd. around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
John Miller saw the plane as he was driving by the Air Park Airport which is less than a mile away.
"I saw a plane coming in,” witness John Miller said. “It touched down and then it went back in the air. The minute he got ready to make the turn he fell out of the air."
Video taken from bystanders at the scene shows a small plane and at least one vehicle on fire after it hit a building.
According to the FAA, the aircraft was a single-engine Mooney M20. Police say the aircraft caught fire right in front of Mama's Daughter's Diner in west Plano. The site of the crash is located less than half a mile from a nearby, single-runway airport called the Air Park-Dallas Airport, but it is unknown if the plane was taking off or landing from that location.
Officials confirmed that the pilot onboard died in the crash. No other injuries were reported.
The FAA and NTSB will lead the investigation.
