POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Tuesday on the two planes that collided mid-air in Winter Haven earlier this month.
Four people died in the crash.
What You Need To Know
- NTSB report released in Polk County fatal planes collision
- Planes collided March 7 over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven; 4 people were killed
- PREVIOUS STORY: Experts explain why Winter Haven fatal plane crash happened
- SEE ALSO: Winter Haven double plane crash victims remembered
Polk State College instructor, Faith Baker, 24, and her student, Zachary Mace, 19, were killed, as were Louis Defazio, 78, and Randall Crawford, 67, on board the Piper J-3 Cub Seaplane.
The NTSB report confirmed that Mace was practicing a landing maneuver with Baker in a Piper Cherokee plane into the Winter Haven Regional Airport at the time of the crash.
At the same time, a Piper J-3 Cub Seaplane was preparing to land on Lake Hartridge.
Investigators said that the J-3 plane did not have any transmission equipment on board, so they weren’t aware of other plane traffic in the area.
The crash happened just four seconds after the Piper Cherokee plane sent its last transmission for landing at the airport.
The two planes collided nose to nose, according to the report. Also, the report does not list a direct cause of the crash.
Still, NTSB investigators said it could take at least a year before the final crash report is complete.