No Mechanical Failure in Wellstone Crash, NTSB Says

Fox News ^ | 12/17/02 | AP

[hoosierskypilot]

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators believe icing may be a cause of the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone and seven others after determining the engines and propellers were working properly.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a progress report Tuesday as part of its investigation into why the chartered King Air A100 plane crashed and burned about 2 miles from the Eveleth-Virginaids and human error, fatigue or disorientation.

Wellstone, D-Minn., was headed to the funeral of a state representative's father when the plane crashed in freezing rain and light snow. Wellstone's wife, Sheila; their 33-year-old daughter, Marcia Wellstone Markuson; and five others also were killed.

The NTSB said specialists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., are working with the safety board to determine the icing conditions that existed along the flight's route.

[Jimmy Valentine]

"The NTSB said specialists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., are working with the safety board to determine the icing conditions that existed along the flight's route."

This is where they should have started, not the condition of the plane.

[jim_trent]

After first hearing about it on the news, I told my wife that it sounded like a stall and the start of a spin (the ground interrupted it before it was fully developed). With icing, even a small amount, the stall speed of the airplane would increase dramatically.

Of course, the idiots on DU and MediaWhores firmly believe that the Republicans did it.

[Cvengr]

The devil did it, ...just to publicly kick Mondale's butt one last time....and in his home state.