I know, I know, copywrites... blah blah blah. This is much easier to read:
Problems Found in Doomed Skydiving Plane
DAN NEPHIN
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - Sparks plugs on a skydiving plane that crashed last month, killing four people, were fouled with oil and the aircraft's fuel was contaminated, federal investigators reported Wednesday.
The investigators declined to elaborate on the report. But outside experts said the dirty spark plugs could indicate excessive engine wear and the dirty fuel could have caused the engine to sputter.
The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board details the plane's condition and provides witness accounts. A final report including the crash's cause could take six to nine months.
"Oil on three plugs indicates the engine was probably excessively worn," said Don Llorente, a former NTSB investigator and crash consultant. "This aircraft had a sick engine, to put it colloquially."
The Cessna 205 crashed June 15 shortly after takeoff from Greensburg-Jeannette Regional Airport, about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The 40-year-old plane was owned by Charles E. Bryant, 61, of Greensburg, who operated a skydiving business. He was among the victims.
The NTSB report says the fuel was contaminated with "particulate matter."
John Frank, executive director of the Cessna Pilots Association, said the contamination could be from the plane's rubber fuel bladders, which isn't unusual, or from water.
