Survivors of Plane Crash Not Surprised At NTSB Ruling

By Carol Kennedy

Published on January 27, 2006

The National Transportation Safety Board issued their final ruling on the cause of the crash of Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 that was bound for Kirksville Regional Airport. The board found that the pilot, Capt. Kim Sasse, 48, and co-pilot, Jonathan Palmer, 28, did not follow proper procedures for landing the aircraft in poor weather. Excessive cockpit chatter, which was documented on the cockpit voice recorder, was determined to be a factor in the crash. The cockpit voice recorder also showed clear evidence of violations of the "sterile cockpit regulations", in which the crew is not allowed to engage in distracting activities during critical phases of the flight.

Krogh stated that he was not surprised at the NTSB finding as he felt that the captain appeared to be either tired or not taking things too seriously.

The turboprop plane crashed one mile short of the runway. Both Bonham and Krogh jumped from the plane and crawled to safety. They were the only survivors. Krogh suffered a broken hip, cracked vertebrae, burns, cuts and a head injury that caused permanent vision and hearing loss.

The NTSB invited Krogh and Bonham to the board meeting - they both declined.

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