NTSB Identifies Probable Cause of Va. Student's Plane Crash
Ryan McCall's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff led to the March 29 crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has identified the probable cause of a plane crash that killed a 16-year-old Spotsylvania County high school student.
Ryan McCall's plane crashed March 29 in a field in Orange County, Virginia. His plane went down just east of the Orange County Airport.
The agency found that McCall's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff led to the fatal crash, The Daily Progress reports.
The report also states that it's possible that the plane engine's performance was degraded during takeoff, which would have likely contributed to the plane's loss of control.
The agency found that the engine's carburetor produced too much fuel and some of the spark plugs were weak, but it couldn't determine if those conditions affected the engine.
Although McCall was only 16, his family said he had such a passion for flying that he already held his student pilot's license.
McCall was a sophomore at Riverbend High School. On the day of the crash, he was flying solo in his first airport-to-airport flight without an instructor in the cockpit.