Windber man killed in plane crash found to have methamphetamine in his system: Report

WINDBER, Pa. (WTAJ) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has released details surrounding a plane accident that killed a Windber man in 2023. On Dec. 29, 2023, PSP was notified of a plane crash on Buzzard Swamp Road. During an investigation, troopers learned that John Burley, 59, had died. The death was ruled accidental. According to preliminary reports, Burley was flying an "experimental, amateur-built" plane and did not have an operating certificate. Data showed that the plane departed from the Erie International Airport at 8:58 p.m. and was headed towards the Johnstown/Cambria County Airport. A new Aviation Investigation Final Report, recently published by the National Transportation Safety Board, showed that Burley accessed a flight planning application to plot a route for the flight, but did not obtain a weather briefing, nor did he obtain a weather briefing from any other flight service provider. Weather reporting along the route of flight showed the airplane flying through areas of cloud. About 90 seconds before the last recorded set of data, the weather radar indicated that the airplane flew into an area of developing light snow. Around that time, the airplane took a tight left turn, climbed 3,500 feet MSL, which measures altitude above sea level and then entered a steep descent in a tight left spiral. Burley then hit into trees before impacting the ground, according to the report. Post-accident examination of the plane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures before the impact. "The circumstances of the accident—visual flight in dark night lighting conditions under an overcast cloud ceiling into an area of deteriorating visibility due to snow by a non-instrument-rated pilot, which culminated in a steep, turning, un-arrested descent—are consistent with the pilot experiencing a form of spatial disorientation known as the somatogyral illusion or graveyard spiral," the report reads. After encountering the reduced visibility conditions, Burley likely did not percive the plane was turning and pulled back on the flight controls, tightening the spiral and increasing the descent rate. which ultimately continued to ground contact. Toxicological testing showed that Burley had used methamphetamine, which has substantial potential to result in impairment, according to the report.