Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New information is coming out about the plane crash in Genesee County Friday that took the life of attorneys Steve Barnes and his niece Elizabeth Barnes.
"It's still early," said trained pilot and aviation law expert Brian Alexander with Kreindler & Kreindler. "But there are a few pieces of evidence that have been released that we expect the FAA and NTSB to hone in on."
Alexander said there was a period of time where communications were lost during the flight. "That could suggest a frequency that was improperly tuned-in, or a mechanical issue with some of the avionics. Or, it could be a sign of some type of incapacitation in the cockpit," he said.
Loss of pressure and incapacitation is what happened in the fatal crash of a similar jet in Rochester in 2014. "There was an aircraft flying at the same altitude (28,000 feet). The pilot became non-responsive. There was de-pressurization due to a design defect and an uncontrolled crash at a high rate of speed, just like this one," said Alexander.
Alexander expects the National Transportation Safety Board, once they become fully engaged, will run the investigation like an emergency room. They have a checklist of things that they will rule out, in order to focus in on the cause.
Right now the Federal Aviation Administration is on scene. The agency is acting in place of the NTSB, which did not travel to the crash site, due to COVID precautions.
Several airport towers were trying to reach pilot Steve Barnes Friday morning. Alexander said he did respond eventually and he was given guidance to head to an airport. But a short time later there was inexplicably no further communication. Shortly after that, the aircraft lost control and rolled to the right and descended from a significant altitude at a significant rate of speed.
The investigation is expected to be complicated. The wreckage disintegrated into a crater in the earth, which makes it more complex to deal with.
The 2009 Socate TBM 700 aircraft is a high performance aircraft. It is pressurized, just like a commercial aircraft. Alexander said pressurization is something that will certainly be a focus. "It's been an issue with these aircraft before," he said.
Loss of pressure can happen in two ways. "Either a pilot can become incapacitated and not realize it. Or, there can be a rapid decompression which can result in this type of event as well. It's too early to say, but there is definitely an indication that something terrible happened up there."
There was no black box in this case, said Alexander. But there will be data on some of the avionics and flight systems that will provide the information.
Steve Barnes had flown to Manchester, New Hampshire on Friday to bring his niece, an attorney in Boston, back to Buffalo.
