US Safety Agency: Wing Broken Before Deadly Plane Crash in Washington State

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Snomish, Wash. — A Cessna 208B with a damaged wing crashed into a field northeast of Seattle on Friday, killing four people on board, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.

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The NTSB said the wreckage had been recovered and taken to the facility for reconstruction, The Seattle Times reported.

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A preliminary crash report is expected in two to three weeks, and a full investigation could take up to two years, officials said.

The small plane left Renton Municipal Airport around 9:30 a.m. and crashed around 10:20 a.m., burning in a field east of Harvey Field in Snohomish County, according to the NTSB.

The name of the person on board has not been released. In an emailed statement over the weekend, his Raisbeck Engineering in Seattle identified two “very experienced” test his pilots, a flight test director and an instrumentation engineer.

Raisbeck president Hal Chrisman said in a statement that the crew had been flying the plane in preparation for modifications to the aircraft.

NTSB investigators are collecting maintenance records on the planes and information on pilots’ licenses, ratings and histories, officials said.

The Snohomish County coroner has not yet identified the victim. Chrisman declined to comment further to the newspaper about those involved in the crash.