NTSB Preliminary Report Today Offers No Hint of Last Week's Plane Crash Cause

The NTSB this morning just released what it calls a preliminary report on the Long Beach Airport plane crash that killed Tom Dean, Mark Bixby, Jeff Berger, Kenneth Cruz, Bruce Krall, and injured Mike Jensen. We post as the Mark Bixby public memorial is beginning at the U.S. Sailing Center.

The text of the National Transportation Safety Board report:

''On March 16, 2011, at 1029 Pacific daylight time, a Beech "King Air" 200, N849BM, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during takeoff from Long Beach Airport (LGB), Long Beach, California.

The commercial pilot and four passengers were fatally injured; a fifth passenger was seriously injured.

The airplane was registered to Carde Equipment Sales LLC, and being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

A flight plan had been filed for a cross-country flight to Heber City, Utah; the crash occurred on initial departure. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident.

Witnesses reported that the airplane had reached an altitude of approximately 200 feet, when it "wobbled" side to side several times and then rolled to the left. Following terrain impact, a fire erupted.''

The investigation will take weeks but more likely months as specialists study and test all parts of the plane wreckage and examine flight recordings and other records. The plane, owned by a company to which Dean was connected, has been hauled to a private salvage yard near Lancaster.