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Franklin Plane Crash Investigation Continues

07/28/2010

The investigation continues into a plane crash near Franklin on Saturday morning that took the lives of two area pilots.

Meanwhile, an autopsy on the body of the man who piloted the plane has revealed that he died of blunt force trauma from the crash, apparently ruling out any previous medical problems.

The experimental aircraft went down shortly after 11:00 AM Saturday in a wooded area near Miller Road in Sandycreek Township.  The man behind the controls, 57 year-old David Wagner, from Shippenville, who had once been a Clarion County commissioner, died on impact.  A passenger, 54 year-old Rob Carbaugh, a Seneca businessman, died later at UPMC Northwest in Seneca.

Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash, and it may be several months before their probe reveals any information.  Some witnesses have said the incident occurred while Wagner and Carbaugh were practicing takeoffs and landings at the nearby Venango Regional Airport.