(Brookings, SD) — A preliminary report has found that engine issues are to blame for a small plane crash near the Brookings airport last month. The National Transportation Safety Board says that the single-engine, four-seat plane crashed on September 6th just before 9 a.m., leaving a pilot and two passengers injured. The plane was heading from Brookings to Bozeman, Montana, when the pilot reported a mechanical issue shortly after takeoff and was forced to land in a grass clearing. One of the two passengers was knocked unconscious during the landing, with the others suffering non-life-threatening injuries during the incident. The airplane was destroyed by a post-impact fire that consumed most of the fuselage, with the remains recovered for further examination.
