MARLIN, Texas — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on a fatal plane crash that took the lives of two pilots in Marlin.
Pilots, Thomas Sands Jr., 55, and Cinnamon Franklin, 27 were conducting pipeline inspections when traveling from Houston to Waco, as stated in the report.
An hour and a half into the flight, the plane turned southwest when midway in the air, pilots alerted air control they would be landing in Marlin, according to the report. Video from the Marlin airport shows the plane landing on the runway before rebounding back into the air, according to the NTSB.
The plane then touched down a second time in the grass to the right of the runway before collapsing into the runway light, according to the report. The plane then returned to the runway, crossed it, and flew off the other side.
That is when the plane can be seen fading out of the frame of video and air control lost all tracking data, as stated in the report. The plane crash was discovered about 350 feet from the Marlin Airport runway.
An investigation conducted earlier this month found no malfunctions or failures could've caused the plane to crash. This was mentioned again in the preliminary report.
During the day and time of the crash, there were clear skies with light wind gusts, according to the report. The two pilots' autopsies and toxicology reports are still pending at this time.
Read the complete National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Preliminary Report here.