Halladay Plane Crash 'Raising Questions' With Experts
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado native Roy Halladay not only loved to fly, but was one of the faces of Icon, the company that made the plane he crashed on Tuesday.
The model he was flying was called the A-5. The former Major League Baseball star had owned it for less than a month.
Video appears to show his final moments before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico. The National Transportation Safety Board says witnesses report seeing the plane maneuvering at low altitude.
"We've gone to the wreckage site where the aircraft came to rest. We've document the scene. The airplane was located, inverted," said Noreen Price, the NTSB investigator in charge. "All major components accounted for. It has been recovered and moved to a secure facility so we can have a more detailed exam. It was equipped with two data recorders. Both have been retrieved."
Investigators say Halladay was a certified private pilot since 2013, and according to his log book he had approximately 700 flight hours.
The Icon A-5 costs around $270,000 and is marketed as user friendly.
It can land on water and even comes with a parachute.
CBS has learned Halladay's deadly accident is at least the third crash this year. In April, an A-5 crashed near Key Largo. A month later, the company's chief test pilot and director of engineering died in a crash. The NTSB blamed both incidents on pilot error.
Former NTSB chair Mark Rosenker says it's extraordinary to have three accidents in that time period.
"It certainly is raising questions about its stability, its ease of flight or also the possibility that too many pilots are taking the simplicity for granted, and thereby making mistakes," he told CBS News.
Dominic Garcia anchors CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and reports for CBS4 News at 10 p.m. Connect with the Denver native on Twitter @cbs4dom & on Facebook.
