Photographed by: Phillip Lee
As the investigation into what caused the mid-air collision in Sharonville Friday shifts to the NTSB, 9News has learned it could be months before a determination is made.
Even though the FAA is already on the ground, and the NTSB is heading to the crash sites, it could take some time before we know what led to the two planes to collide, 9News has learned.
Often after crashes, a preliminary report is released by the federal agencies several months later, with a final report often taking in excess of a year.
9News has learned one plane involved in the crash contained a student and an instructor. The other a lone pilot based nearby at Blue Ash Airport.
Both from the air, and on the ground, the devastating impact of the crashes was clear for all to see.
But what isn't clear is what caused them. And figuring it out likely won't prove easy.
"The distance from East Kemper to this location covers a lot of area," said Lieutenant Wayne Price, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Three miles to be exact, meaning the debris field, and a possible explanation could be laying anywhere.
We're told after the collision, local and state police were flooded with calls from people relaying what they had seen in the planes' final moments – aircraft spiraling out of control until they struck the ground below.
"We have had people call our station, we taken their information and passed it on," Chief Michael Schappa, of the Sharonville police department, said at a press conference Friday.
"I can tell you, it's a very large number. The stories, from what I have been told, are consistent," Lt. Price said.
What those stories are, police aren't saying.
They instead tell 9News they will continue to work on securing debris.
That is, until the investigation is handed over to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Saturday morning.
9News was told the NTSB will be talking to eyewitnesses at the Kemper Road crash site were the Beechcraft Bonanza went down, and at the site in the subdivision where the Cessna went down.
9News has independently learned the Cessna contained a student pilot and a person thought to be an instructor, but that has yet to be verified by police.
"I can't discuss that yet," Price said.
We do know that neither plane was required to file a flight plan, and that neither was in communication with a flight tower.
