PIERRE, (KCCR) — The National Transportation Safety Board has released it’s preliminary report into the October 23rd crash of a Piper Malibu Mirage aircraft in the bluffs west of Pierre Regional Airport. The report shows pilot, 59 year-old Dr. Eric Meyer, put 10 gallons of fuel in before takeoff, giving the plane a total load of 100 gallons before taking off for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Meyer reported no problems until reaching 11-thousand fee when the engine abruptly stopped and rolled back. Meyer noted no warning signals from the cockpit before the loss of power. Meyer declared an emergency and attempted to return to Pierre Regional Airport. Meyer could not restart the engine during the emergency descent and the plane also lost electrical power during the attempted return. The plane landed upright in the rolling terrain west of state highway 1804. Meyer noticed passenger 76 year-old Hugh Alexander was barely conscious and started giving Alexander C-P-R until first responders arrived. Alexander died as a result of the crash. The plane was retained by authorities for further examination. In 2003 the original engine was replaced with a turboprop engine.
