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Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 9:02 a.m.

Posted: 5:57 p.m. Sunday, April 22, 2012

New details on Tuscarawas Co. fatal plane crash; preliminary report out on Belmont crash

By Briona Arradondo

TUSCARAWAS AND BELMONT COUNTIES —

The National Transportation Safety Board released new details about Saturday's fatal Tuscarawas County plane crash investigation and the preliminary report of the Belmont County fatal crash last month.

NEWS9's Briona Arradondo talked to public affairs officers from the Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB about both investigations. They said investigators returned to the crash site just south of Newscomerstown Sunday, where a single engine plane went down in a wooded area on Indian Run Road.

"We'll be looking for, (aside from) the plane itself, (to find) any kind of witnesses," said FAA Public Affairs Officer Tony Molinaro, over the phone. "We'll look at the maintenance records of the aircraft, the pilot records."

Investigators said the high impact of the crash didn't leave much debris from the crash, which killed Emil Bisaccia, 59, of New Jersey.

"(There are) various other factors we'll be looking at, and we gather all of that information," said Molinaro. "With an accident like this, we then hand it other to the NTSB."

Peter Knudson, a NTSB public affairs officer, said the last communication received was about five minutes before the plane disappeared off the radar, but it was not a distress call. He said the plane made a 180 degree turn at about 8,000 feet before it went off the radar. There was no post crash fire, and the engine was buried about five feet in the ground from the crash impact, Knudson.

This crash comes less than a month after a March fatal plane crash in Belmont County that killed Donald Cates.

Cates was on his way to the Spirit of St. Louis airport when his small plane crashed in a yard on State Route 149, officials said. According to the NTSB's preliminary report, the experimental plane built by an amateur lost control during the flight, and investigators were concerned about the wing structure. The report stated whoever built the airframe modified the wings according to the kit manufacturer.

NTSB officials said anyone who was an eye or ear witness to the Tuscarawas County crash should call the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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