OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) - Federal investigators say weather
likely wasn't a factor in the plane crash that killed two Oklahoma
State women's basketball coaches this week.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jason Aguilar
said Saturday that the skies were clear and the winds were calm
Thursday when a plane carrying head coach Kurt Budke and assistant
Miranda Serna crashed in central Arkansas.
THV Meteorologist Tracy Beene is an expert in aviation meteorology and said there wasn't much turbulence in the upper levels when the plane crashed. You can watch her explanation here.
Aguilar says investigators are focusing on the pilot and the
airframe, and possibly a loss of control. But he says there was no
evidence that would question the pilot's qualifications to fly the
plane.
Former Oklahoma state Sen. Olin Branstetter was piloting the
small plane.
The 82-year-old and his wife, Paula, also were killed
in the crash.
Aguilar says it could be a year before a final NTSB report is
completed.