NTSB: Holloway's plane lost control

Autopsy completed in fatal aircraft accident

MOSES LAKE - The cause of a May 31 ultralight crash resulting in the death of Ephrata pilot Bob Holloway is still undetermined, according to a preliminary accident report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report doesn't state if pilot error, unexpected weather issues or mechanical problems contributed to the experimental plane's crash in a corn field near the Moses Lake Municipal Airport.

But the report does say Holloway's plane apparently "experienced a loss of control."

Moses Lake Deputy Mayor Richard Pearce said he attended the clubhouse breakfast and organizers brought a radio inside to hear the pilots.

Pearce said he heard Holloway say over the radio he couldn't control the plane.

Holloway, 76, was known for reaching a Guinness World Record in 2004 for making the longest journey of 2,580 miles on a powered paraglider.

Darrin Jackson of the Moses Lake-based Jackson Flight Center confirmed Monday the company helped assemble Holloway's plane. He declined further comment until the flight center receives the final investigation report.

Jackson reported the accident to the Grant County Sheriff's Office, according to sheriff's office records.

Witnesses said they saw the plane fly in circles before hitting the ground, said Grant County Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin.

FAA operations inspector Jim Bening said there's more work on the investigation that must be completed. Investigations are typically completed within 30 days, Bening said.

The NTSB's report details Holloway's flight from Moses Lake to Quincy and back to Moses Lake. He planned to circle the airplane over a friend's house and practice touch-and-go takeoffs and landings in Quincy.

An unnamed witness spoke to an NTSB investigator and said Holloway "seemed happy and eager to fly the plane."

The witness in the report said Holloway had only amassed about 10 hours in the airplane and was planning a flight across the United States in the near future.

While Holloway was returning to the Moses Lake Municipal Airport, a witness saw the plane barely clear a hangar and power lines on the departure from an aborted landing.

"The witness then observed the airplane make numerous erratic maneuvers," the report stated. The witness tried to reach Holloway on the radio, but Holloway didn't respond.

"The airplane temporarily continued in level flight and then began more erratic turns. The airplane then pitched up about 65 degrees nose-high and made a left bank," according to the report. "It subsequently stalled and continued in a spin about 360 degrees before impacting a field located adjacent to the runway."

Holloway died from multiple internal injuries, Grant County Coroner Jerry Jasman said.

Jim Link of Moses Lake said he was in the airport's club-house the day of the accident when he heard someone say "Bob Holloway's in trouble."

Link said he observed Holloway's plane perform a skidding left turn and descend east.

He saw the plane climb and abruptly go straight to the ground, he said.

It looked like Holloway "lost total control of the thing," Link said.

"It hit the ground so hard it bounced back in the air a little bit," Link said.

He called the accident "a sad state of events" and said Holloway was "a nice guy."

Holloway served on the Big Bend Community College Board of Trustees, was a founder of AgFARMation and served as a former director of the Grant County Farm Bureau.