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Initial report on Surprise plane crash released

Posted at 7:31 PM, May 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-18 22:31:08-04

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board details the events leading up to a plane crash nearly two weeks ago in a Surprise neighborhood.

A single-engine Beechcraft G35 Bonanza took off from Glendale Municipal Airport around 4:30 p.m. on May 7. Roughly 25 minutes later, the plane crashed in a green belt area near Bell and Litchfield roads.

The plane took off for a check after undergoing maintenance, and crashed following a reported loss of engine power.

Pilot Josh Merrill was killed in the crash. Michael Fox was also in the cockpit as part of a training flight, whose family credits Merrill with saving his life

The plane took off from Glendale and made one loop around in the airport's traffic patter, according to the NTSB report. It then headed northeast, before turning 180 degrees to the right and then 270 degrees to the left.

After the turns, the plane "entered a constant descent which continued to the last radar return," the report said.

Investigators were able to recover all of the major components of the plane from the crash site, but had yet to conduct a detailed examination of the engine and airframe.