NTSB documents reveal more details into fatal Lafayette plane crash bound for Peach Bowl

Documents released by the National Transportation and Safety Board reveal more details about the fatal 2019 Lafayette plane crash that was bound for the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. 

The small passenger plane crashed on Dec. 28, 2019, shortly after taking off from Lafayette Regional Airport. The five passengers, including one survivor, and pilot were on their way to Atlanta to watch the Louisiana State University football team play a semifinal game in the Peach Bowl.

The crash killed pilot Ian Biggs and passengers Carley McCord, Vaughn Crisp, Gretchen Vincent and Michael Walker Vincent. The sixth passenger, Stephen Wade Berzas, was treated for burns that covered 75% of his body.

A bystander, Danielle Britt, who was in the post office's parking lot, also was injured and suffered burns to 30% of her body.

More:A year after Lafayette plane crash, still no answers about what happened

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash and has not yet issued its final report into what it thinks happened. But the board released some documents Tuesday detailing more of what happened the morning of the crash. 

Michael Walker Vincent was a student pilot and was in the plane's right front seat. The 15-year-old was issued his student pilot certificate on Sept. 29, 2019. 

Berzas, the crash's only survivor, and Crisp sat behind Biggs while McCord and Gretchen Vincent sat behind Michael Walker Vincent, Berzas told investigators. 

The plane took off from the Lafayette airport at about 9:20 a.m., ascending to 935 feet, the altitude it remained at for about 3 seconds before entering a continuous descent to the ground, according to a May 2020 report.  

Berzas later told the investigator the airplane ride felt as he had experienced it before. At one point, there was a jolt or pitching moment and Michael Walker Vincent said they were going up. A few moments later, Vincent said "we are going down people," Berzas said. 

"At that moment Mr. Berzas looked out the window and saw a glimpse of the ground for a moment – he recalled that there was no time to think or react," the investigator who interviewed Berzas wrote. "He recalled that it still felt like the airplane was climbing right up to the point where the impact sequence started."

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Biggs, the 51-year-old pilot, left his house at about 8 a.m. to head to the Lafayette airport, which was about 7 minutes from his house, his wife told investigators. He did not discuss any concerns with his wife before the flight but had said it would be a full flight and the ceilings would be low for takeoff and landing. 

"She added that her husband was a very conscientious pilot and would cancel a flight if he felt uncomfortable," the investigator who interviewed Biggs' wife wrote. "He had canceled flights because of weather conditions before and there was no pushback from the company."

Biggs had about 1,530 hours of flight experience, about 730 of those were in the aircraft make and model, according to NTSB documents. He primarily flew the plane that crashed, which was owned by technology management company Global Data Systems.

The flight instructor who trained Biggs as recently as that spring said Biggs "worked really hard to do his best," according to NTSB documents. 

"(The instructor) provided that (Biggs) was a 'great pilot' he was 'all serious' when it came to flying airplanes," the investigator who interviewed the instructor wrote. 

Victims of the crash:A 15-year-old, a mother, a pilot, a 'great friend,'

The plane did not "experience an aerodynamic stall," but data showed a large amount of drag on the airplane, according to the report. 

"The source of this drag is unknown, but might result from drag on the propellers following a sudden reduction in power to the engines," an investigator wrote in the report. 

Britt; Berzas; relatives of Crisp, McCord and the Vincents; and some bystanders who witnessed the crash are seeking damages against the insurance companies, the plane's owners and pilot. They filed lawsuits in Lafayette's U.S. District Court in the Western District of Louisiana.

Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.