WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have investigated the plane involved in a fatal crash last week in St. Lucie County for a different incident.
Records, from the agency overseeing investigations into airplane accidents, said the Piper PA-28-161 airplane received significant damage after it overran a runway in Texas on Sept. 4, 2002. The report said nobody was injured in the crash when a student was operating the plane, which was owned by a Texas company called US Flight Academy LLC.
The FAA said the crash last week killed one person and seriously hurt another person. According to the federal agency, the operator for the plane during this most recent crash was Aviator College of Aeronautical Science & Technology in Fort Pierce and the registered owner for the aircraft was Ari Ben Aviator Inc.
Region St Lucie County
Small plane that crashed, killing 1, linked to Fort Pierce flight school
Michael E. Cohen is the registered agent for both companies, according to the Florida Department of State.
He didn't comment on the plane being in a previous incident but asked WPTV to wait until the final report is published by the NTSB at a later date.
Rhonda Lyons, who owns a consulting company specializing in aeronautical and space engineering called Nyrad Inc., said a plane can get back in the air like a car gets repaired after a crash.
"It doesn't happen too often," she said. "But, in terms of just general maintenance and things happening and things being replaced, that's normal."
Lyons said getting a plane back in the air requires a significant amount of maintenance, inspection and approval from the FAA.