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‘My engine is doing something weird,’ pilot says before crash near St. Augustine airport

NTSB releases preliminary report on March 2 aerobatic plane crash that left 49-year-old woman dead

Pilot critical in stunt plane crash at St. Augustine airport

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on a plane crash in the St. Augustine area that left a 49-year-old woman dead.

Marianne Fox, from Corvalis, Oregon, died after her aerobatic plane crashed March 2 near Northeast Florida Regional Airport.

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The NTSB’s preliminary report states Fox’s plane was seen trailing smoke on approach to the airport, and the other pilot asked if she was using her smoke generator, to which she replied no. But, according to the report, she was losing power -- the engine was only doing 1,380 revolutions per minute, far below the cruise power setting of 2,200 rpm.

The report states Fox was heard on the radio saying, “My engine is doing something weird, what do I do?” The other pilot told her if she cut the throttle, she’d make it down, according to the report. Fox overflew the runway and landed upside-down in the marsh, where she radioed, “I had too much speed, I should have come in slower,” the report shows.

She was rescued from the plane but died later at a hospital.

Pilot dies after aerobatic plane crash near St. Augustine airport, family says

NTSB investigators said the fuel was clear and free of contaminants. The fuel pumps showed no anomalies, nor did the plane’s cylinders, valves or pistons, according to the report.

NTSB will continue to examine the wreckage. Final reports can sometimes take up to two years.


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