The National Transportation Safety Board has closed the case on the crash of a Piper Turbo Arrow in Colorado in January, saying the pilot committed suicide.
Investigators said the 41-year-old pilot who was killed in the crash on January 11 in Brighton, Colorado, intentionally flew his airplane into the ground after his wife told him she wanted a divorce.
The NTSB said the pilot’s wife told investigators he said he would kill himself if she ever left him by crashing his airplane.
According to the accident report, witnesses said they observed the pilot taxi the airplane from inside his hangar and depart Van Aire Airport. For several minutes, the airplane maneuvered at a low altitude and high speed. Witnesses then observed the airplane make a steep turn, descend and impact terrain about five miles east of the airport.
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