NTSB: Pastor's plane movements erratic before crash

CRUSO, N.C. -- Minutes before the plane carrying the Rev. Forrest Pollock and his son went down, the Piper Cherokee changed direction at least twice and dropped more than 3,000 feet, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Pollock, 44, of Brandon, left Rutherford County Airport at 5 a.m. on May 12, headed for North Little Rock, Ark. Also aboard was Pollock's son, Preston, 13. At 5:20, radar tracked the plane over Asheville at an altitude of 9,200 feet.

The plane continued flying west for the next 10 minutes and dropped to 8,300 feet. Over the next two minutes the Piper descended 1,200 feet and turned north, then northwest. It dropped 1,000 feet in 10 seconds, to 6,100 feet, then climbed to 6,300 feet before falling again. Radar last spotted the Piper's altitude at 5,700 feet.

Pollock's plane came to rest at an elevation of 4,700 feet on the steep southern slope of Cold Mountain, amid thick woods. The nearest weather data to the crash measured wind gusts of 27 to 36 mph.

Pollock did not file a flight plan for the trip. Investigators could find no evidence Pollock requested a pre-flight weather briefing or communicated with FAA facilities enroute.

Pollock had the ability to check weather from a computer system his plane, said airport manger Greg Turner of the Rutherford County Airport. "His plane had in-flight weather," Turner said. "He should have been aware of what he was getting into."

A final report on what might have caused the crash will take between nine and 15 months to complete, said NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson.

-- Andrew Meacham, Times Staff Writer