A preliminary federal report on a fatal plane crash on the South Coast shows engine problems may have been a factor in the accident. John Lewis had just taken off from Camarillo Airport October 8th when the tower radioed him that he was flying too low. The Woodland Hills man responded that his single engine plane was having problems climbing.
Witnesses told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that the plane made a turn while rapidly heading towards the ground. One of the eyewitnesses said it appeared the plane’s propeller wasn’t moving. The plane crashed in an agricultural field near the airport.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene. He was an experienced pilot, and had flown commercial transport planes.
