An aging learjet involved in a run-way accident in Amarillo.
/ ProNews 7
According to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane that crashed early Sunday morning, killing the Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera, had been involved in a 2005 accident in Amarillo, Texas.
On a landing approach into the Rick Husband Amarillo International airport in 2005, the plane experienced a imbalance with the fuel system, causing one wing to weigh more than the other.
The pilot in the report stated that he was not able to trim the plane.
The pilot said the airplane "would not bank to the right without almost full right aileron." The pilot for that flight elected to land rather than add full power and go-around, instead of risking a potential situation.
As the airplane landed it exited the left side of the runway striking a runway distance marker. The report did not give the extent of damages caused by striking the marker.
The 2005 NTSB report also said that maintenance personnel "were not able to find any discrepancies in the fuel transfer system." The NTSB reported that no mechanical issues were found with the plane's fuel transfer system.
The Notimex identified the plane as a 1969 Learjet 25 that was piloted by 78-year-old pilot Miguel Perez.
There were at least five people on board the plane when it crashed: pilots, Miguel Perez and Alejandro Torres, a publicist, a makeup artist and Jenni Rivera.
Evidence at the scene found the singers drivers license along with identification belonging to Perez. The cause of the plane crash was not immediately known.
Rivera's family confirmed her death on Sunday night in a press meeting at their home in Los Angeles.
The family will travel to Mexico to identify the body and retrieve the remains for a burial.
