Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Initial report on fatal crash says plane reported open door

Officials Investigate Fatal Plane Crash

Steve Marcus

Officials investigate at the scene of a fatal small plane crash near the Henderson Executive Airport Sunday Sept. 8, 2019. The plane crashed on Saturday night killing two and injuring three others.

The National Transportation Safety Board says a Sept. 7 fatal plane crash occurred when the aircraft was returning to a southern Nevada airport after appearing to struggle to gain altitude and then reporting that a door was open.

The NTSB preliminary report said the pilot and instructor were killed and two passengers were killed when the plane nose-dived into the ground while returning to Henderson Executive Airport.

The preliminary report said the same aircraft that crashed the evening of Sept. 7 left the airport that morning but had to return, with one person aboard telling an airport employee that it was too hot for the single-engine plane to climb to get over mountains.

The NTSB will later release a final report likely including a conclusion on what caused the crash.