SAN ANTONIO — According to preliminary information provided Tuesday morning by an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot of the plane that crashed Sunday, December 1 near the San Antonio International Airport, experienced an engine malfunction prior to the crash.
The crash, which occurred in the 600 block of West Rhapsody Drive, left three people dead.
One day after the crash, the Bexar County Medical Examiner identified one of the victims of the crash as 38-year-old Robert Tyson Womble.
The plane took off from Sugar Land, a city about 20 miles southwest of Houston, and was heading to Boerne when the pilot noticed "some kind of engine problems," according to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood.
The malfunction caused the pilot to deviate from his flight course into San Antonio airport, according to an official with the NTSB.
Investigators spent Tuesday morning inspecting the angle at which the plane impacted the ground and how it came to rest.
The airplane will be moved to a secure facility, hangar, in Dallas where the engine will be broken down more thoroughly to figure out what the motive failure for the engine might have been.
According to an official with the NTSB, the process will take a few days to go through the wreckage and then some more time, depending on exactly what needs to be done.
As is customary for these investigations, the official with the NTSB said that their investigations focus on the man, the machine and the environment, so investigators will take a look at the pilot and his expertise, along with the metal, more specifically the engine, and then the environmental conditions at the time of the crash.
The investigator noted that oil and fuel were found at the accident site and that there was no post-impact fire.
A preliminary report on the crash can be expected later this week. The actual full-on report will be released in a year or two, depending on how much information there is.
The surrounding area of the crash site, the 600 block of West Rhapsody Drive, will be opened back up Tuesday afternoon.
Security camera footage from the surrounding area will be collected as part of the investigations.
Additionally, anyone who may have footage of the crash or may have witnessed the accident is encouraged to contact investigators at eyewitness@NTSB.gov