A pathologist’s report shows that the flight instructor aboard the small plane in which 7-year-old Jessica Dubroff crashed and died had severe hand and wrist injuries, suggesting that his hands and not Jessica’s were on the controls at the time of impact, an investigator said Saturday.
Earlier, Steve McCreary of the National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was well over its maximum weight of 2,500 pounds when it took off from Cheyenne Municipal Airport in rain and snow. Control tower tapes also showed the Dubroff plane was warned about possible wind shear.
Safety experts were focusing their investigation on possible human error and the bad weather as the chief causes of the Thursday morning crash.
Jessica’s father, Lloyd, and the flight instructor, Joe Reid, who was legally responsible for the flight, also were killed. All three bodies were flown to California on Saturday for burial.
McCreary told reporters Friday in Greeley, Colo., where the wreckage was taken for inspection, that no malfunctions were found with the aircraft’s engine, its airframe, control flaps or rudder.
Among the issues to be examined was how many of the 1,400 hours of flying time that Reid logged were spent taking off from high-altitude airports, McCreary said. Thin air at higher altitudes such as Cheyenne’s 6,000 feet, makes it more difficult for a plane to take off.
