FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – A pilot tells federal investigators he believed his small plane had enough fuel for a short flight from Fort Wayne’s Smith Field before the engine stalled and the aircraft struck power lines and a house while crashing.
The statement from pilot Jeffrey Mills is included in a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the September 2015 crash.
The Journal Gazette reports his statement doesn’t explain why he left the crash scene. The pilot was treated for minor injuries and his lawyer contacted authorities about the crash the next day.
The NTSB report says less than a half-gallon of fuel was recovered from the plane. Police reports say Mills was at a Fort Wayne bar earlier that night but it’s unclear whether he’d been drinking alcohol.
