STOTTS CITY, Mo. —
The plane crash Nov. 4 near Stotts City that killed 50-year-old Richard A. Armstrong Jr., of Neosho, and 41-year-old Royce Deryl Edwards II, of Joplin, followed a series of mechanical problems with the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report released Tuesday.
One witness told NTSB investigators that “fuel or oil” was leaking from the right engine after it took off, and that Edwards, the pilot-rated passgenger on the flight, used the radio to arrange for a fire extinguisher to be present when they landed on an unlighted grass airstrip near Miller.
But the plane turned back to Monett, where it had originated, and was losing oil pressure before one of the engines on the twin-engine 1956 model Cessna 310 was shut down. No flames or smoke were reported by witnesses before the crash.
The plane, registered to Edwards, also reported it was having trouble maintaining altitude and the men on board sought directions to the Mt. Vernon airport, but after learning that it was four miles away, announced they were going to attempt an emergency landing on Interstate 44, but they never got that far.
Edwards was last hear saying over the radio, “We’re going to crash.”
The plane exploded on impact.
