NTSB releases preliminary report on Hermantown plane crash that killed 3
HERMANTOWN, Minn. -- The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Friday on a small plane crash that killed three in northern Minnesota earlier this month.
Thirty-two-year-old Alyssa Schmidt, her 31-year-old brother Matt Schmidt, and the pilot, 32-year-old Tyler Fretland, died in the crash.
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk was in the air for less than eight minutes when it crashed into the second floor of a house before coming to rest in the backyard.
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A witness told investigators that the victims departed from South St. Paul Municipal Airport around 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 1 to attend a wedding and a reception in Duluth.
According to the report, when departing 12 hours later, Fretland requested an instrument flight rules clearance from the air traffic controller. Fretland incorrectly read back the departure frequency, which the air traffic controller did not correct.
The controller contacted Fretland on the tower frequency when he noticed the plane descending, telling him to contact departure.
The NTSB says Fretland responded, but several seconds later the plane continued to descend with increasing ground speed. The controller contacted Fretland again but did not get any response.
