NTSB investigating fatal plane crash near Curtiss

A preliminary report is expected next week on a fatal airplane accident that occurred near Curtiss on June 30.

The pilot was killed last week after the aircraft he was in crashed shortly after takeoff from the Curtiss area.

The small plane was first reported missing to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department at about 11 a.m. on June 30. The caller said the pilot had left Curtiss at about 4:30 a.m., headed for New Richmond, which is located in St. Croix County on the western edge of the state.

After a series of tips came into the sheriff’s department, the downed plane was discovered northwest of Curtiss. The pilot, who was the lone occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jennifer Gabris of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said an investigator arrived at the accident scene on July 1, and a preliminary report was expected 15 days after that.

“Once on scene, investigators will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft,” Gabris wrote in an email. “Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information, air traffic control communication, airplane maintenance records and the pilot’s medical records. NTSB investigators will look at the human, machine and the environment as the outline of the investigation.” NTSB will not declare a cause of the crash at this stage, she said, but will provide factual information when available.

“Investigations involving fatalities, and other major investigations currently take between 12 and 24 months to complete, other investigations take between 12 and 18 months, on average,” she wrote.