NTSB Says Pilot Reported Ice Buildup Before Crash of Small Plane in Pennsylvania

Investigators say the pilot of a small plane had reported ice buildup on his aircraft and asked to divert to a nearby airport shortly before the crash that killed him and his passenger last week in Pennsylvania.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot had asked to land in Johnstown on April 19 but was told that conditions were better in Altoona. He requested guidance to the Altoona airport at 8:30 a.m. and crashed about 15 minutes later in the backyard of a home near Williamsburg.

The men killed in the crash were identified as Stephen Grady and James Durkin. They had taken off from Lancaster and were traveling to Indiana for a University of Notre Dame alumni conference.