Reported by: Lance Barry
Photographed by: Phillip Lee, Terry Helmer
Investigators of Friday's fatal airplane collision over Sharonville have already found two important clues.
Since arriving Saturday morning, NTSB officials spent the day scouring the wreckage of both crash sites.
However, their biggest piece evidence isn't from twisted sheet metal; it's testimony from an eyewitness.
"She says the aircraft were going in opposite directions, and their wings impact, and she was later able to see the impact the ground," explained Ed Malinowski with the NTSB.
That woman's testimony is not unlike others who have told 9News they saw the Beechcraft Bonanza that crashed on East Kemper Road, missing a wing as it fell.
Speaking of the aircraft's wings, the NTSB tells 9News that is where another crucial piece of evidence has been extracted; specifically from the Cessna.
"We were able to tell that the flaps on the 172 were [upright]; we could tell that from information from the investigation," Malinowski said.
In other words, that shows that plane was not landing at the time of the crash.
When NTSB investigators arrived early Saturday morning, the balance of power in the investigation also shifted. No longer is the Ohio Highway Patrol at the point, but they will continue to have their hands full in a secondary role.
The NTSB says that one plane did have a transponder on board, which should help them look at radar images and see where the plane was flying and at what altitude.
