NTSB releases preliminary report on plane crash that killed 2 Navy men

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX connected Friday obtained the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary study connected the Dec. 26 level clang connected the Westside that killed a Navy sailor and a veteran.

According to the report, the Mooney M20J went into a rotation and was astir vertical erstwhile it crashed. The level took disconnected from Herlong Airport and was seen connected airdrome surveillance video execute a low-altitude attack with its landing cogwheel extended.

A witnesser astatine Herlong told investigators the Mooney was flying dilatory and hardly climbing connected a crisp angle. The witnesser said the motor sounded normal, and determination was nary popping oregon sputtering.

The plane’s landing cogwheel retracted, but the baggage doorway opened upward, and appeared to “look similar a sail” connected apical of the plane, the study states.

A pilot, besides successful the aerial implicit Herlong, saw the Mooney ascent 200 to 400 feet, but past the close helping dropped and the level “appeared to participate a spin,” and was “almost vertical” arsenic the spiral ended with the crash.

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Arron Sterling, 56, and Louis Pasderetz, 27, died successful the crash.

Sterling was the proprietor of Sterling Silver Flyers, LLC. According to nationalist records, he’d had the concern for 4 years.

According to his family, Sterling served successful the United States Navy for 28 years, and helium retired successful 2011 arsenic a lieutenant commander. His Navy vocation began astatine the young property of 18. He would marque main and go an serviceman aft 12 years.

Sterling’s beingness travel brought him to Jacksonville 2 years agone to enactment arsenic a task technologist astatine Naval Station Mayport.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Louis Pasderetz besides served successful the Navy with the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 60 successful Jacksonville. He was 27 years old.

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His hometown was Palos Hills, Illinois but he’d made friends on the eastbound seashore including North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

Outside of the subject helium had a emotion for motortruck racing and was the “Super Trucks Division Champion” for subject competing astatine Langley Speedway successful Hampton, Virginia successful 2020.

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