FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board has identified the probable cause of a plane crash that killed a 16-year-old Spotsylvania County student.
The Daily Progress reports that the agency found that Ryan McCall's failure to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff led to the March 29 crash that killed him.
The report also states that it's possible that the plane engine's performance was degraded during takeoff, which would have likely contributed to the plane's loss of control.
The agency found that the engine's carburetor produced too much fuel and some of the spark plugs were weak, but it couldn't determine if those conditions affected the engine.
McCall was a sophomore at Riverbend High School. He was flying solo in his first airport-to-airport flight without an instructor in the cockpit.
