1st report on Fostoria plane crash released

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report regarding the fatal single-engine plane crash that occurred in Fostoria Feb. 22. As was previously reported, the plane, a Piper PA32, was on a course from Effingham County Memorial Airport in Effingham, Illinois to Findlay Airport in Findlay. The flight was deemed a personal flight according to the Code of Federal Regulations. The flight plan had a cruise altitude of 9,000 feet at mean sea level with an estimated flight time of 1 hour and 28 minutes, according to the report. The plane had four hours of fuel on board. The report also states the last confirmed communication between air traffic control and the plane was when air traffic control provided landing instructions. "Shortly thereafter, ATC (air traffic control) attempted to contact the pilot and subsequently issued a low altitude alert, but no reply or acknowledgment was received," the report reads. "The airplane first impacted a field in a relatively flat attitude and continued the 340° track into the trees where it collided with multiple trees and became highly fragmented. Flight control continuity could not be established due to the highly fragmented nature of the wreckage, but all lengths of control cables were accounted for at the accident location," the report reads. "All major pieces of the airplane were observed at the accident location." A full report is to follow and could take a year or longer to be finalized, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Board's media department said. The pilot was identified as Shane Alan Halbrook, 59, of Avon, Indiana. The co-pilot was identified as Michael D. Wright, 51, of Casey, Illinois. The tail number on the plane was N3952W. The investigation was initially headed locally by Norwalk Post of Ohio State Highway Patrol. Bascom Fire, Seneca County EMS, the Seneca County Coroner's Office and area police and deputy personnel assisted at the scene.