New details have emerged regarding the fatal March 22 plane crash in Rapides Parish, as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary investigation report Tuesday. The findings provide a harrowing timeline of the aircraft’s final moments before it was destroyed in a densely wooded swamp near Lake Rodemacher.
The crash claimed the life of the pilot, the sole occupant of the Beechcraft B200GT Super King Air. While local first responders, including the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office and several regional fire departments, initially searched areas near Cotile Lake and Red Store Hill Road based on early reports, the wreckage was ultimately discovered at approximately 5:00 p.m. on the southwestern shore of Lake Rodemacher.
According to the NTSB, the cross-country flight departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 12:49 p.m. EDT, bound for Dallas, Texas. The flight appeared routine until 2:17 p.m. CDT, when the pilot requested a 60-second frequency change from Houston Center air traffic controllers.
Six seconds after that request, the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR) captured sounds of “clicks and rustling,” followed immediately by an autopilot disconnect alert. Within seconds, the plane entered a steep right turn and began a rapid descent from 28,000 feet.
The report details a series of automated cockpit warnings—including excessive bank angle alerts and a landing gear warning horn—as the plane reached extreme speeds. Performance calculations suggest the aircraft reached a vertical descent speed of up to 45,000 feet per minute before impact.
The impact was so severe that it created a 15-foot-deep crater in the swampy terrain. NTSB investigators noted that the airplane impacted at a “steep nose-down pitch angle,” resulting in a debris field extending roughly 400 feet.
Search and recovery teams faced significant challenges due to the “densely vegetative and swampy” environment. Investigators utilized a swamp excavator to search for wreckage, recovering severely fragmented portions of the wings, cabin, and tail section. Notably, the aircraft’s engines were not located even after excavating to a depth of 30 feet.
The NTSB’s investigation remains ongoing, with participating parties including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and representatives from the airplane’s manufacturer. A full summary of the cockpit voice recorder’s contents is expected to be released at a later date.