NTSB: Unbalanced load caused fatal Weslaco plane crash
WESLACO — An uneven fuel load likely set off the chain of events that brought down a Brownsville pastor’s plane outside Mid Valley Airport last week, federal aviation inspectors said.
Ralph Copeland, 70, reportedly took off July 3 from South Texas International Airport in Edinburg having only filled the wing-tip fuel tanks on one side of his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza.
The uneven weight caused the aircraft to roll to the left throughout the flight and complicated the pilot’s efforts to land the plane, according to a preliminary accident report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“That’s probably an extra 130 to 140 pounds on one of the wings,” said George Garrett, Weslaco’s emergency management coordinator and an amateur pilot.
Garrett and city police were first to arrive at the scene, minutes after Copeland’s plane crashed. The impact killed the longtime minister at Brownsville’s New Harvest Ministries Christian Church and broke the kneecap of his passenger and friend — 38-year-old Aaron Voreis, a student pilot from Brownsville.
Voreis explained the empty right wing-tip tank to NTSB investigators, saying that the fuel nozzle had broken off when they tried to refuel.
“(Copeland) was unable to retrieve the broken nozzle and no fuel was added,” the preliminary report states.
After noticing the plane’s leftward roll, the pilots planned to make an emergency stop at Mid Valley Airport in Weslaco but failed to land the plane on a first attempt at a touchdown.
The leftward roll grew unmanageable during a second landing attempt and Copeland’s plane hit the ground, Voreis reportedly told investigators.
Copeland had 40 years of flight experience and had served in the U.S. Air Force. Voreis could not be reached for comment.
Friday’s report summarizes only the preliminary findings of the accident investigation. The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to conclude a full probe of the crash later this year.
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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
