“Wobbling” Plane Crashes Into Ground, Kills Skating Champ

Federal investigators say a witness saw a small plane flying low and "wobbling" moments before it crashed at a southwestern Pennsylvania airport last month, killing a former Ukrainian champion figure skater.
 
Officials said 52-year-old Igor Novodran of Upper St. Clair was practicing touch-and-go landings at Washington County Airport before the March 11 crash near the runway.
 
The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report quoted two airport workers as saying Novodran banked 90 degrees to the left while trying to make a "short final" approach to the runway and continued descending toward the ground.
 
The (Washington) Observer-Report reports that investigators haven't said whether the aircraft had any mechanical or engine problems.
 
Novodran, a Ukrainian National Champion skater in his youth, had in recent years coached skaters in international competitions.