SANFORD, Fla., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- NASCAR is responsible for a 2007 airplane crash that occurred in Sanford, Fla., and left five people dead, federal officials allege.
National Transportation Safety Board officials accused the stock car racing organization and the two pilots of the airplane of not taking sufficient precautions to prevent the deadly accident, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel said Thursday.
NTSB officials said the Cessna 310R that crashed into a Sanford residential neighborhood July 10, 2007, had an electrical problem prior to the crash. The two men on board the airplane were killed, along with three people on the ground.
The Sentinel said the electrical problem, which resulted in one of the pilots noticing a burning smell the day before the crash, meant the airplane should not have flown.
"This accident is especially tragic not only because lives were lost and people were grievously injured, but because it could have been so easily avoided," NTSB acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said.
Brian Rayner, the official in charge of the investigation into the crash, said at an agency meeting Wednesday that NASCAR's corporate-aviation division should have grounded the airplane.
"NASCAR's organizational process allowed for this to happen," Rayner said.
