Investigators look over a small plane crash alongside eastbound Interstate 40 at mile marker 202 on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Nashville. (George Walker IV/The Associated Press)
The family was killed when their 1978 Piper single-engine plane crashed and burst into flames alongside a highway west of downtown Nashville around 7:40 p.m. ET on March 4.
“During the accident sequence, the left fuel tank was breached, and a large postimpact fire engulfed the airplane, which largely consumed the left wing and fuselage,” the NTSB said.
The report said multiple witnesses reported hearing the plane as it passed overhead and that it sounded like it was having engine issues. One witness said the engine was “sputtering and making popping sounds,” according to the report.
The plane was based at the Brampton Flight Centre, which is owned and operated by the Brampton Flying Club. Victor Dotsenko appears on a list of private pilot licence graduates at the centre in 2022.
Following the crash, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada sent a representative to assist in the investigation, which was led by U.S. authorities.