NTSB Releases Reports on Alaska Plane Crashes

The National Transportation Safety Board has released preliminary reports on two deadly small plane crashes in September in Alaska.

Investigators were unable to find a probable cause for a crash near Big Lake that killed 66-year-old pilot Kenneth Whedbee and injured a passenger in the experimental Zenith CH-701 aircraft.

A report says another crash near Glenallen was likely caused by an inadvertent stall at low altitude from which the pilot was unable to recover. Former Alaska State Trooper Michael Zobel was flying the Cessna 170B and died in the crash.

KTUU reported that investigators are still working on the crash of a de Havilland Otter at Soldotna Airport in July that killed 10 people. A structural engineer is working on the investigation at the NTSB office in Anchorage.