Country music star Troy Gentry‘s death was caused due to an error by the pilot, according to new reports.
Federal investigators have blamed an error on the pilot’s part following engine maintenance problems for the helicopter crash, which killed Gentry and the pilot at a small airport where he was to perform that night.
The National Transportation Safety Board in a final report said the pilot cut the engine too soon as he tried an emergency landing, leading to an uncontrolled descent. The helicopter crashed in the woods nearby instead of reaching the runway at the Flying W Airport in Medford, New Jersey.
The NTSB also noted that the maintenance crew’s failure to rig the throttle control assembly before the flight also contributed to the crash.
Gentry was taking a pleasure and orientation flight before the concert at the airport’s resort.
“The pilot’s early entry into and failure to maintain rotor rpm during a forced landing autorotation after performing an engine shutdown in flight, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent,” the report reads. “Contributing to the accident was the failure of maintenance personnel to properly rig the throttle control tie-rod assembly.”
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