4:22pm | The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a preliminary brief on its findings thus far into its investigation of the March 16 plane crash at Long Beach Municipal Airport that claimed five lives.

The report dated March 24 provides little new information, but it does clarify that the Beechcraft King Air turboprop plane was not circling the airport and attempting to land when it crashed. 

According to the report, the aircraft was still in the process of taking off and had only climbed a couple hundred feet when it plummeted to the ground.

The report can be viewed by clicking here. The text of the report reads:

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
 
On March 16, 2011, at 1029 Pacific daylight time, a Beech “King Air” 200, N849BM, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during takeoff from Long Beach Airport (LGB), Long Beach, California. 

The commercial pilot and four passengers were fatally injured; a fifth passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to Carde Equipment Sales LLC, and being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

A flight plan had been filed for a cross-country flight to Heber City, Utah; the crash occurred on initial departure. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. 
 
Witnesses reported that the airplane had reached an altitude of approximately 200 feet, when it “wobbled” side to side several times and then rolled to the left. Following terrain impact, a fire erupted.

The NTSB released the report Friday morning, coincidentally the same day as funeral services for one of the five men killed aboard the plane, Mark Bixby, which drew an estimated crowd of more than 500.

Along with Bixby, Tom Dean, Jeff Berger, Dennis Krall and Kenneth Cruz, the pilot, perished in the fiery aftermath of the late morning aviation accident. 

A sixth passenger, Michael Jensen, survived, though he suffered head trauma and severe burns to roughly 40 percent of his body. He is currently being treated at the UC Irvine Regional Burn Center in Orange.

Federal investigators continue to perform tests on the wreckage, which was hauled off to a site near Palmdale for the probe. It could be at least another month or two before a finalized report noting the determined cause of the crash is published.

To read the Long Beach Post‘s initial coverage of the March 16 plane crash and the ensuing aftermath over the next several days, click here.