Pilot Blamed in 2010 Monmouth County Plane Crash

Federal investigators have blamed the pilot for a New Jersey plane crash that killed all five people aboard, saying he forced the plane into a steep climb that caused the right wing to break.

The 2010 crash at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township killed three Polish tourists as well as the pilot and another man.

Witnesses described seeing the plane fly past the airport at high speed and low altitude, then climb steeply.

A National Transportation Safety Board report released Friday concludes the pilot failed to take into account the plane's limitations in performing the maneuver. The report also cited numerous modifications made to the plane that could have weakened the wing structure.

It's not known which of the two certified pilots aboard was flying the plane.

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