FAA: Dayton’s fatal plane crash 1 of 7 over weekend

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office have released reports regarding Saturday’s fatal plane crash at the Dayton Air Show.

The preliminary investigation shows wing walker Jane Wicker, 44, and pilot Charlie Schwenker, 64, died of trauma on impact, before the eruption of flames, in what is considered an accidental plane crash, according to a release from the coroner’s office.

It will be four to six weeks before toxicology tests are complete. As standard in any crash case, samples will be sent to the FAA for evaluation as part of their investigation, according to the coroner’s office.

Saturday’s crash is now listed on the FAA website, along with six other fatal crashes of small aircraft that happened from Friday to Sunday. Others happened in Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Michigan, Connecticut and Idaho, according to the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board expects to release a preliminary report this week on the crash.

The initial report will include the basic facts of the case, said Jason Aguilera, a NTSB air safety investigator, during a news conference at the Dayton International Airport on Sunday. A final report is expected to be released within six months to year.

A determination on the cause of the crash will be issued several weeks after the final report.

NTSB officials expect to continue working on the case at the airport for the next few days collecting information.

“Where we are at in the investigative process is really the preliminary phase of our investigation right now,” Aguilera said. “We’re doing all the data collection right now, so we’re not going to have any kind of determination about the findings or probable cause at this point. It’s really too early into the investigation.”

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