20170702009859A

ON JULY 2, 2017 AT 19:56 EDT, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM CHRIS THOMPSON AT THE FAA REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER (ROC). MR. THOMPSON CALLED TO NOTIFY ME ABOUT AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT THAT OCCURRED IN A SOY BEAN FIELD OFF OF THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 04 AT MERRYS PYMATUNING AIRPORT. MR. THOMPSON STATED THAT ?THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE, MEADVILLE, PA DIVISION RECEIVED A 911 CALL AROUND 19:30 EDT FROM ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WHO HEARD THE CRASH FORM HIS HOUSE THAT?S LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE ACCIDENT SCENE?. MR. THOMPSON STATED THAT ?THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOCATED OFF OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AT APPROXIMATELY 20:14 EDT, I CALLED THE MEADVILLE, PA STATE POLICE AND TALKED TO TROOPER MCKINNEY. TROOPER MCKINNEY STATED THAT ?THAT THEY RECEIVED A 911 AROUND 19:28 EDT FORM A LOCAL RESIDENT?. THE CALLER STATED THAT AN AIRCRAFT HAS CRASHED IN THE SOY BEAN FIELD ACROSS THE STREET. THE STATE POLICE ARRIVED ON-SCENE AND CONFIRMED THAT ONE PERSON WAS DECEASED. WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVED ON SCENE ?THE AIRCRAFT WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES AND THEY COULD NOT FIND THE AIRCRAFT N-NUMBER?. I ASKED TROOPER MCKINNEY TO SECURE THE SCENE AND SHE SAID THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE.

AT APPROXIMATELY 20:36 EDT, HEIDI KEMNER CALLED ME FROM THE NTSB TO DISCUSS THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT. I GAVE MS. KEMNER THE LIMITED INFORMATION THAT I HAD AT THAT TIME. MS. KEMNER STATED THAT "THEY WERE GOING TO SEND AN INVESTIGATOR OUT TO THE SCENE THE NEXT DAY?.

AT APPROXIMATELY 20:44 EDT, LAWRENCE AARON MCCARTER FROM THE NTSB CALLED TO NOTIFY ME THAT ?HE WILL BE LEAVING FIRST THING IN THE MORNING?. I GAVE MR. MCCARTER A BRIEFING ON THE INFORMATION THAT I HAD AT THE TIME. MR. MCCARTER AND I AGREED TO MEET AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AROUND LATE MORNING.

AT APPROXIMATELY 21:00 EDT, CHRIS THOMPSON CALLED FROM THE ROC TO PROVIDE ME WITH AN UPDATE ABOUT THE AIRPLANE CRASH IN LINESVILLE, PA. MR. THOMPSON STATED THAT? THE PILOT WAS IDENTIFIED AS MR. HARRY A. ROSS WHO RESIDES AT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE AIRCRAFT THAT MR. ROSS WAS FLYING WAS A SLIP STREAM GENESIS; TAIL NUMBER N3449. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BUILT IN 1996 EQUIPPED WITH A ROTAX 582, 65 HORSEPOWER TWO CYCLE ENGINE.

ON JULY 3, 2017, INSPECTOR GARY ANKNEY AND I ARRIVED ON-SCENE AT APPROXIMATELY 9:00 EDT. WE MET WITH THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT, NTSB AND SEVERAL WITNESSES. THE WITNESSES THAT WE TOOK STATEMENTS FORM ALL HAD VERY SIMILAR ACCOUNTS OF THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE ON JULY 2, 2017. THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE ACCORDING TO EYEWITNESSES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

ON JULY 2, 2017, AT APPROXIMATELY 19:30 EDT MR. HARRY A. ROSS DEPARTED MERRYS PYMATUNING AIRPORT (PA01). MR. ROSS DEPARTED RUNWAY 04 IN HIS SLIP STREAM, GENESIS EXPERIMENTAL / LIGHT SPORT AIRCRAFT. WITNESSES STATED THAT ?MR. ROSS DEPARTED RUNWAY 04 WITH A TAIL WIND?. THE AIRCRAFT THEN MADE A SHALLOW RIGHT HAND BANK BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT LOST CONTROL AND SPUN INTO THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED APPROXIMATELY ¼ MILE FROM THE END OF THE RUNWAY END. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON A HEADING OF 285 DEGREES IN A SOY BEAN FIELD OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 04. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, A LOCAL FARMER PULLED MR. ROSS FROM THE WRECKAGE BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE.

THE AIRMAN WAS SUBSEQUENTLY KILLED BY BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA. AFTER CONDUCTING OUR WITNESS STATEMENTS, IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT MR. HARRY ROSS TOLD ANOTHER PILOT ON THE FIELD THAT HIS AIRSPEED INDICATOR WAS NOT OPERATING. THE PILOT OFFERED MR. ROSS A ?HALL?S AIRSPEED INDICATOR?; THE PILOT NEVER INSTALLED THE INDICATOR ON HIS AIRCRAFT. MR. LAWRENCE AARON MCCARTER FROM THE NTSB CONFIRMED THAT THERE WAS NO CONTROL MALFUNCTION NOTED THROUGH A CONTROL CONTINUITY CHECK. MR. MCCARTER ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE ENGINE WAS FREE AND RUNNING AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH.