Ultralight aircraft crash in Pa. probed; 1 killed
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SMOKETOWN (AP) – Authorities in central Pennsylvania said the crash of an ultralight aircraft shortly after takeoff that killed the pilot may have been due to a too-steep ascent.
Officials in Lancaster County said the aircraft took off from Smoketown Airport shortly after 5:45 p.m. Saturday but went down about 100 yards away.
Police in East Lampeter Township said Sunday that the aircraft crashed into an unoccupied mobile home that was being dismantled on the site of an auto repair garage.
The pilot, 30-year-old Michael Blank of Gap, was killed. He was the only person in the aircraft.
Officer Nathan Westerman says investigators believe that the aircraft ascended too rapidly and stalled in midair, leading to the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration defers investigation of ultralight crashes to local law enforcement.