NTSB: Plane in crash that killed Goshen woman 'slow' at takeoff

The airplane that crashed in Shirley two weeks ago killing Goshen's assistant school superintendent was described as flying at a "slow" and "anemic" pace, using "almost the entire length of the runway before taking off," a preliminary federal report said.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Saturday morning updated its findings with interviews from eyewitnesses on the fiery crash that killed two people aboard the single-engine plane on Aug. 19.

The report said a witness who stood on his back porch saw the plane above the trees at the back border of his property, and that the sound of the engine was "really loud."

The airplane descended over his back yard and below the height of his one-story house in a left 30-degree bank. The airplane then pitched up, climbed over the house, and struck a tree and a construction Dumpster in front of the house, where it burst into flames, the report said.

The plane's owner, David J. McElroy, 53, of Orient, and passenger Jane Unhjem, 60, who worked for the Goshen Central School District, died. Unhjem's husband, Erik, 61, was critically injured and remains hospitalized. McElroy had reportedly taken the Unhjems on a test flight intending to sell the plane to the couple.

No flight plan was filed for the trip, according to the latest NTSB report.

The plane, a Socata TB10, took off from Brookhaven Calabro Airport, where the runway was 4,222 feet long, the report said.

Radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration showed the airplane climbed to 200 feet mean sea level and accelerated to 63 knots groundspeed before the radar target was lost in the vicinity of the crash site, the report said.

McElroy held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on Aug. 1, 2003, when he reported 18 total hours of flight experience, according to NTSB investigators.

Investigators recovered the engine from the scene. The cockpit was severely damaged by fire. The report said the FAA issued a ferry permit on June 20, 2012, to relocate the airplane for an annual inspection and other maintenance at Calabro Airport.

The mechanic who ferried the airplane stated that there was nothing wrong with the performance and handling of the airplane on that ferry flight, the report said.