A preliminary report indicates a single-engine plane may have been experiencing engine trouble before it crashed May 17 at Mesa Falcon Field, killing the two people aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says multiple witnesses reported hearing "popping" noises and a loud "bang" after the plane took off and that it appeared the engine wasn't producing enough power.
Commercial airline pilot Jesse R. Goodwin of Gilbert, Arizona, and 18-year-old exchange student Ataberk Besler of Cannakkale, Turkey, were killed in the crash of the North American Aviation AT-6.
The NTSB preliminary report says the plane crashed and burned immediately after making a 180-degree turn once it flew over an airport perimeter road.
