NTSB Report Released On Bartow Plane Crash That Left 5 Dead

BARTOW, FL - The pilot of a plane that crashed at the Bartow Municipal Airport on Christmas Eve requested that the aircraft be towed from the hangar to the ramp before takeoff because of dense fog, according to a preliminary report released by the the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane crashed during takeoff with pilot John Shannon, a prominent 70-year-old Lakeland attorney, and four other passengers killed in the accident. "The pilot wanted a tow because he didn't want to taxi next to the other hangars with the reduced visibility due to the dense fog, the report said.

The fog also forced Shannon to use an instrument flight rules plan to get to Key West on Christmas Eve. The report does not determine the cause of the crash but makes several references to the dense fog in the area.

The passengers killed in the crash were identified as: Shannon's two daughters, 24-year-old Olivia Shannon, a Southeastern University student, of Lakeland and 26-year-old Victoria Shannon Worthington, a Baltimore school teacher; Worthington's husband, 27-year-old Peter Worthington, Jr., a third-year law student at the University of Maryland; and family friend, 32-year-old Krista Clayton, a Lakeland school teacher at Jewett Academy.

A witness, who is a helicopter pilot, observed the airplane taxiing to the runway and about 12 minutes later heard the airplane take off. He recorded a video of the airplane taxiing in the dense fog. During the takeoff, he heard a 'pop' and three seconds later heard the explosion near the end of runway 9L, the report said. He and a colleague drove to the accident site where they found the wreckage on fire. He estimated that the runway visual range was 600 to 800 feet due to the fog.

According to the NTSB report: "The five occupants boarded the plane inside the hangar and remained inside the airplane during the tow. The pilot then very slowly taxied the airplane from the ramp to the end of runway 9L where the engine run-up was completed. The (airport) employees then heard the airplane takeoff and proceed to the east. They could not see the airplane because of the dense fog and low visibility, but they heard an explosion on the east side of the airport. They drove to the explosion and found the main wreckage on fire and no occupants were immediately noticeable."

The report continued: "The pilot filed an IFR ( instrument flight rules) flight plan on a Garmin GPS device and received an IFR clearance from Tampa Air Traffic Control Tower. The pilot did not request a weather briefing from Flight Service. The (Bartow Airport) air traffic control tower was closed at the time of the accident."

The National Weather Service reported that visibility in the area at the time of the crash was less than a quarter-mile because of fog.

The sheriff's office said last month that the Cessna 340 took off about 7:15 a.m. Christmas Eve heading east, into heavy fog. For unknown reasons, but likely related to the fog, the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, according to the sheriff's office.

A fire that occurred after the plane crash was extinguished by Polk County Fire Rescue.

Shannon was was a Marine Corp veteran and president of the Lakeland Republican Club.

The Bartow Airport is located just off U.S. 17 near Spirit Lake Road. The airport is the former Bartow Air Base, a former U.S. Air Force base, located about 5 miles northeast of Bartow. The air base was closed in 1961.

To review the report, click here.

Image via Polk County Sheriff