The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the Aug. 20 plane crash that left two dead.
At about 7 a.m. Aug. 20, a Cessna 550 airplane, N689VP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Odessa.
The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. A person on the ground was seriously injured.
The two deceased were Joseph Vincent Summa, 48, of Bellaire, Texas, and Joleen Cavaretta Weatherly, 49, of Orange, Texas. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, a Texas Department of Public Safety news release said.
Obituary information was not available as the services were held privately Sept. 3 in their hometown.
The Cessna 550 Citation II jet was destined for Ellington Airport in Houston. It was involved in an accident during a takeoff attempt. The accident destroyed the plane.
The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight, the report said.
The airplane departed Odessa Airport-Schlemeyer Field from runway 16.
A pilot-certificated witness heard the airplane’s engines and noted that they sounded unusual, so he went to observe the airplane. He saw the airplane as it flew down the last 1/3 portion of the 5,003-foot long runway, about 10 feet above ground level in a near level attitude, the report said.
The airplane then collided with power lines and a restaurant building, Dewey’s Breakfast Shop.
Impact signatures were consistent with the airplane colliding with power lines and a one-story restaurant. The right main landing gear sheared and was entangled in the building’s roof. The airplane came to rest about 150 yards south and impacted two garage areas. A post impact fire ensued which consumed a majority of the airplane, the report detailed.
Remnants of all the primary flight controls were located at the accident site. The parking brake valve was located and found in the disengaged position. A cockpit voice recorder was located in the wreckage and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board vehicle recorders lab for download.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett said in a text message that the crash would not change any airport procedures at this time. They will wait until the conclusion of the NTSB report. The NTSB investigation will take between a year and two years maximum, according to federal law, he said.
