FALLS COUNTY, Texas — Two people who died in a plane crash April 5 in Marlin have been identified as Thomas Sands Jr., 55, of Sugar Land, and Cinnamon Franklin, 27, of Greenwood, Indiana, as stated in the report.
The National Transportation Safety Board are now reporting they have found nothing abnormal for why the plane may have crashed, according to Senior Safety Investigator and Regional Chief, David Bowling.
Bowling told 6 News that Wednesday investigators will be focusing on finding mechanical issues with the aircraft. There is a lot that goes into play, according to officials.
"We have a lot of things we have to look at, of course we look at the weather. What we do know is conditions were calmer than they are right now. It was a sunny day and we are not really looking too hard at weather issues but we do want to make sure it didn’t play a contributing role,” Bowling said.
While investigating the NTSB reports they were able to find flight plans and radar tracks. According to NTSB, Sands had canceled flight plans to Waco and planned on landing in Marlin.
There are no signs that the plane tried to touch down on the runway in Marlin, according to officials.
At this point, investigators are trying to figure out what may have happened during the trip before the landing to cause the crash.
“Whatever happened between the time that he was over the approach end of this runway to where we are right now just east of the airport is what we are trying to find out," Bowling said.
Three people from NTSB will be in Marlin for the rest of the day, according to Bowling. There will also be a salvage operator who will come to recover the airplane to an indoor facility in Dallas.
Bowling says the NTSB plan to talk to another pilot who landed in Marlin the day of the crash. They are hoping he/she hope can come forward to answer questions.
“This is a tragedy for two families and we want to make sure nothing like this happens again. Right now it is a mystery. We have a lot of information to look at,” Bowling said.