National Transportation Safety Board releases final report on fatal 2022 Ohio plane crash

OHIO (WOWK) – The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on a fatal plane crash that happened in Marietta, Ohio, in October 2022.

According to the final report, investigators have determined that the cause of the crash was heavy ice building up on the tailplane as it descended toward its final destination through icy weather conditions.

Witnesses and camera footage showed that the plane suddenly began a steep spinning descent until it made impact in a commercial parking lot and caught fire.

The airplane was fitted for flying in icy conditions, but due to damage from the crash, the anti-icing system could not be inspected. However, the report states that based on the weather conditions, speed and the plane’s calculated performance, the deicing system “should have been able to sufficiently remove the ice from the surfaces.” However, according to the report, if the landing gear and flaps had already been extended, it could have allowed for a sudden aerodynamic shift could have put the tailplane into an aerodynamic stall.

The report says there were no “irregularities” reported upon the plane’s departure.

Two men were killed when a 1974 BEECH E-90 owned by Avintel Management LLC crashed in Marietta on its way from Columbus, Ohio, to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the victims as Eric Seevers, 45, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Timothy Gifford, 49, of Orient, Ohio. Seevers was a local, well-known musician and Gifford was a beloved retired Columbus firefighter, instructor and mentor.

The plane had been flying into Parkersburg to pick up two men to take them to a business trip in Florida, one of the intended passengers told WOWK 13 News in the days following the crash.