FAYETTEVILLE -- The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Tuesday that said the airplane that landed last week on Martin Luther King Boulevard lost oil pressure and that the engine stalled.
Four people were taken to a hospital Nov. 3 after pilot Bill Simon deployed the Cirrus SR22T aircraft's emergency parachute and landed in front of Fayetteville High School.
Police said those onboard the plane were Clifford Slincard, 59, the co-pilot; Maurice Willis, 47, a passenger; and Simon, 56, the former president of Wal-Mart U.S.
Simon took off for a trip from Bentonville to Waco, Texas, but when he leveled his airplane at 10,000 feet, an alert system began to flash yellow, according to the report.
Simon notified air traffic control and headed toward Fayetteville Municipal Airport-Drake Field, according to the report. A red warning light started flashing as oil pressure dropped and the engine began to sputter, according to the report.
Simon couldn't yet see the airport, and he couldn't hold altitude, according to the report.
A horn sounded as a warning that the plane was stalling, and Simon deployed the parachute, the report said. The plane landed about 4 miles north of the airport and collided with a truck driven by Shakemia Harris, 30, of Fayetteville, according to police and the safety board report.
Everyone in the plane got out and walked around immediately after the crash, according to a police dispatch report. The plane was substantially damaged, according to the federal report.
Later in the evening, the plane was removed from the road after federal investigators looked at the wreckage, police said.
During an examination Nov. 4, federal investigators found engine oil on the underside of the fuselage, according to the report. The oil cooler cross fitting was broken, and oil was found in the engine compartment, the report said.
Simon was released from Washington Regional Medical Center on the day of the crash, a hospital spokesman said. Harris was treated and released the same day. Slincard was admitted to the hospital for at least 24 hours. Willis was not listed as a patient at the hospital.
Metro on 11/11/2015