Las Vegas NowClues sought in NV crash that kills decorated Navy pilot, 3 kids
Associated Press - May 24, 2009 5:15 PM ET
RENO (AP) - Federal investigators say they haven't ruled out anything as the cause of a small plane crash in northern Nevada that killed a decorated Navy pilot and his three daughters.
National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigators over the weekend combed the wreckage for clues as to whether human error, weather or a mechanical problem caused the crash Friday night in Fallon, 60 miles east of Reno.
Cmdr. Luther H. Hook III, the No. 2 officer at Naval Air Station Fallon, died when his twin-engine Cessna 320 crashed and burst into flames less than a mile from the Fallon airport runway after a flight from Fresno, Calif.
Also killed were three daughters from a previous marriage: 15-year-old Kaitlyn Hook, 12-yar-old Rachel Hook, and 9-year-old Mackenzie Hook, all of Clovis, Calif.
Witnesses told authorities that the plane appeared to be in distress and was maneuvering erratically shortly before the crash, and the National Weather Service reported gusts of up to 40 mph at the time.
But NTSB investigator Patrick Jones says it's uncertain whether winds played a role in the crash.
He says the small craft had no black box, and a review of a flight recording indicated nothing unusual before the crash.
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