A pilot father made a tragic mistake with his engine position that caused a fiery small plane crash that killed him, his wife and their three young children.
Over a year after five family members Victor Dotsenko, 43, his wife Rimma, 39, and their three children, David, 12, Adam, 10, and Emma, 7, were killed in a plane crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week revealed what happened.
The NTSB found that the March 4, 2024, crash was not the result of any mechanical problems on the plane, but a fuel selector was switched between the ‘off’ position and the left main tank position.
According to the report, this setting ‘would starve the engine of fuel’, ultimately causing the small aircraft to fall from the skies and crash near the I-40 Interstate.
The crash was just miles from the John C. Thune Airport in Nashville, Tennessee, and the report said the changed setting ‘was likely the result of the pilot changing the fuel selector handle in preparation for landing.’
Footage captured the moment the plane, a Piper PA-32RT single-engine aircraft, crash landed into a fireball as terrified motorists filmed from their cars.
The family had set off from their home of King Township in Ontario, Canada, and had made stops in Pennsylvania and Kentucky to refuel before attempting to land at the Nashville airport during their journey.
Dotsenko had lined up a runway with air traffic controllers and was set to land around 7:40pm, but chilling audio captured the moments when he admitted: ‘I’m going to be landing, but I don’t know where.’
Victor Dotsenko, 43, his wife Rimma, 39, and their three children Emma, 7, Adam, 10, and David, 12, died in a horror small plane crash in March 2024 after Victor made a fatal error with the engine
The NTSB found in a report this week that the March 4, 2024, crash was not the result of any mechanical problems on the plane, but a fuel selector was switched between the ‘off’ position and the left main tank position
In the cockpit audio, which was released weeks after the deadly crash, Dotsenko told air traffic control that he would need to circle around again as he missed the descent to land.
He then told dispatchers his ‘engine turned off’ as he was nearing the airport, as an operator tried desperately to tell him to glide into the runway.
‘I’m at 1,600 (feet)… I’m going to be landing, I don’t know where,’ he said.
In his last transmission, the father-of-three said: ‘I’m too far away, I won’t make it.’
In the NTSB report released this week, an analysis of the aircraft’s data ‘revealed that the engine was operating at nearly full continuous power of about 2,650 rpm before the engine sound became abnormal.’
‘The audio contained several ‘popping’ noises before the sound of engine noise ended,’ the report stated.
The Canadian family-of-five all perished together in the tragedy
Shocking footage captured the moment the plane exploded into a fireball by the side of a highway, although miraculously there were no injuries or deaths on the ground
All five family members died in the crash, although miraculously nobody was injured or killed on the ground despite the aircraft landing behind a Costco store close to the highway.
Nashville resident and former city council member, James Hollin, said he was driving along I-40 after the time of the incident.
‘My kids tried to rubber neck but couldn’t make out what it was that burned so badly. They kept saying it wasn’t a car and my mind didn’t expect it to be a plane,’ he told The Tennessean.
Witness Dion Burnley added in a Facebook live broadcast: ‘I’d just seen this pane crash on I-40, it went down and it blew up. I thought it was a car that crashed.’
Dotsenko had initially overshot John C. Thune Airport by several miles, and some commented after the audio was released that he sounded inexperienced.
The father received his pilot’s license from the Brampton Flight Centre in 2022. The aircraft was based out of the Brampton Flying Club.
The children’s school, UMCA Rich Tree Academy, posted a heartbreaking tribute to the family, describing them as ‘beautiful children (who) lit up our hallways every day.’
‘They all had such a positive energy and attitude towards friends and teachers,’ the private school said. ‘Words cannot express the profound sadness and grief we are experiencing as we mourn the loss of the Dotsenko family.’
Rinna Dotsenko’s father, Sergei Rudetsky, added to the Toronto Star that they were dealing with ‘shock and grief’ after hearing of the tragedy.
In chilling cockpit audio, Victor was heard telling air traffic controllers: ‘My engines turned off… I’m too far away, I won’t make it’
The family lived in King Township, around 30 miles north of Toronto, and the town’s mayor said their deaths were a ‘heartbreaking and devastating loss for our tight-knit community’
The family lived in the Toronto suburb of King, Ontario. According to his LinkedIn page, Dotsenko owned a contracting and home insulation business that operates in the Toronto-area.
His wife Rimma was a Decor Consultant at real estate firm Regal Crest Homes, according to her LinkedIn.
The family-of-five’s tragic death rocked their small community, as the town’s mayor Steve Pellegrini made a heartfelt announcement about the loss of the family.
‘On behalf of King Township, I extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the Dotsenko family from our community who tragically lost their lives in the small plane crash in Nashville, Tennessee,’ Pellegrini said at the time.
‘This is a heartbreaking and devastating loss for our tight-knit community. While we await further details from the ongoing investigation, our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims during this incredibly difficult time.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .