NTSB: Wrong fuel pumped into plane caused deadly crash in Las Cruces

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report stating wrong fuel pumped into the plane caused the deadly crash in Las Cruces last month.

All four passengers on board were killed.

The Cessna 421C plane crashed on August 27 shortly after take off from the Las Cruces Airport. It was carrying a medical team and a cancer patient who was being transported to Phoenix for medical treatment.

The airplane was registered to Elite Medical Air Transport from El Paso and was operated by Amigos Aviation.

The NTSB report stated the pilot, Freddy Martinez, 28, was seated in the cockpit before take off and told service technicians to fill the plane with 40 gallons of fuel.

The report, though, does not say if Martinez specified to the technicians what type fuel the plane required.

Forty gallons of Jet A fuel was pumped into the plane instead of the required aviation gasoline.

Martinez was present during the refueling process and helped technicians replace the fuel caps, according to the report. He signed the fuel ticket and prepared for take off.

Shortly after take off, one of the medical personnel on board called a medical dispatcher to notify them the plane was going back to the Las Cruces after smoke was detected from the right engine.

A witness driving westbound on Interstate 10 told investigators the plane was flying about 200 feet above ground level.

According to the report, the aircraft was “generally eastbound and upright when it impacted terrain resulting in the separation of the left propeller and the separation of the right aileron”.

The impact of the crash caused the plane to go up in flames.

Investigators at the scene reported the smell of jet fuel.

The information in the preliminary report could change, but it is unclear how long it will take before the final report is released.