The plane that killed a Skokie grandfather and his three grandchildren last week tried twice to takeoff before its third and fatal attempt.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board states that the Beech 58 airplane aborted two attempts to takeoff. On the third attempt, the “wings rocked back and forth” and the plane’s left wing hit the northbound lanes of Interstate 75.
The plane stopped in a grassy area near the highway where it burst into flames, according to the report.
Killed in the crash were the 73-year-old pilot Moshe Menora and his three granddaughters, Rikki, 16, and Rachel Menora, 14, and Sara Klein, 17. The fifth passenger, 13-year-old Yossi Menora, was able to unbuckle his seatbelt and exit the plane. He is listed in critical condition at a Michigan hospital.
The group was headed home after a day trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan. Menora and his granddaughters were flown to Israel to be buried.
NTSB investigator Aaron Sauer said load calculation has yet to be done, but he speculates that the plane was overloaded, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The plane’s records and other information are still being investigated.
