Investigators release details on plane crash

Lock Haven, Pa. — Investigators have released their preliminary report into the plane crash that killed a 17-year-old Hughesville girl earlier this month.

A witness near the site told investigators the Cessna 172N airplane, flown by Maisie Bitler, was only 200 feet above the ground when it passed over him just before the crash. The plane had made a sudden left turn while above the runway at the William T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report is only the board's preliminary findings. A full investigation into the fatal crash on July 4 is still in progress.

According to the NTSB:

Bitler’s Cessna took off from the Williamsport Regional Airport at 9:51 a.m., according to data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration. Bitler continued in a west-southwest direction until she made a left downwind turn toward the runway at Lock Haven. Bitler lined the plane up for the final approach, but about halfway down the nearly 4,000-foot runway, Bitler began a left, climbing turn. The speed of the plane increased from 36 to 46 knots, according to the NTSB.

A witness who was standing in the Susquehanna River at the time of the crash said he saw the plane moments before the accident. It was flying low, at an altitude of only about 200 feet, he said. He told investigators he believed “there was no way the airplane would make it over the trees." Seconds later, he heard the sounds of impact and called 911. The time of the crash was 10:10 a.m., just 19 minutes after takeoff.

Before the crash, the engine appeared to be running, not “missing,” but the plane was “struggling,” according to the witness.

The initial crash investigation showed the Cessna clipped the top of a tall maple tree before hitting another tree about 165 feet to the west. The wreckage came to rest upright at the base of a tree about a half-mile northeast of the Lock Haven airport before catching fire.

Records show Bitler was working toward her private pilot's license and had logged 26.9 hours of flight experience, all in the Cessna. She had completed her first solo flight — a half hour trip — on June 16. The July 4 flight was her second solo attempt.