Fatal plane crash linked to wing flaps

SPANISH FORK — An experimental plane crashed, killing two people, because wing flaps were incorrectly connected to the control stick, federal safety officials said.

Problems with the linkage meant a left roll actually would turn into a right roll, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its first report on the July 25 crash at Spanish Fork-Springville Airport.

When the Spectrum 33 departed, it immediately rolled right and crashed into the ground, killing Glenn Maben, 53, and Nathan Forrest, 25.

Maben was director of flight operations for Spectrum Aeronautical LLC, and Forrest was vice director.

Spectrum Aeronautical, based in Cardiff by the Sea, Calif., is developing the Spectrum 33, a twin-engine plane made of carbon fiber, in Utah County.

The flight was the first since the plane's flap linkage had been disconnected and reassembled during a maintenance check, the NTSB said.

Spectrum Aeronautical's partner, Rocky Mountain Composites, is the company that built and maintained the plane. It declined to comment until the NTSB releases a final report.

Spectrum Aeronautical President Austin Blue said he agreed with the findings. The pilots apparently didn't check the flap controls before the flight.

"They were looking at a number of things on the airplane that day. Sadly we all missed this," Blue said Thursday.

When pilots suddenly are faced with it in the air, "there is no time to correct the problem," he said.