Plane went 'straight down' in Niagara County crash that killed pilot: NTSB report

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The plane in a crash that killed a pilot in the Town of Porter last month went "straight down" right before it crashed, according to an initial NTSB report that was issued about the wreck.

The report does not state why the crash occurred, but gives a timeline as well as a description of the crash, which occurred just east of Old Fort Niagara.

The crash took place sometime between 11:39 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. on July 20, just after a parachutist had jumped out of the plane. The report states that according to obtained video, the airplane "pitched over in a dive" and then "rolled right along its vertical axis before going out of view."

A witness interviewed by the NTSB said they saw the plane going "straight down" towards the ground before crashing. Another witness said the plane had "one wing pointed towards the ground" and "one wing pointed towards the sky" as it was going down. Tracking data ended at 11:39:20 a.m., the report states.

The report says that at 11:40 a.m., the same time the plane went down, a controller attempted to terminate radio services but received no response. At 11:44 a.m., another company airplane that was attempting to locate the plane saw smoke on the ground two to three miles west of the jump zone. The plane crashed into a hill leading up to the southbound lanes of the Niagara Scenic Parkway.

The accident occurred during Falls Fest, an annual event held by the operator, Skydive the Falls, a skydiving center based out of Windsor Airport in Youngstown. It was the sixth flight of the day. The five previous flights were completed without incident.

The pilot who was killed, 26-year-old Melanie Gregor of the Town of Tonawanda, had been working for the company since April. When the crash occurred she had accrued 1,449 hours of flight experience, just over 100 of which were the same airplane make and model as the one that crashed.

The plane itself, a Cessna 208B, was manufactured in 2002 and had been modified for parachute jump operations. Its most recent inspection had been completed on March 24. At the time of the inspection, the plane had accrued 8,471 hours of operation and the engine had about 1,050 hours on it since major overhaul.

The crash is still being investigated.