The National Transportation Safety Board has released details surrounding a plane crash that claimed the lives of a pilot and a 13-year-old aviation enthusiast. 

It was on January 25 around 5:15 p.m. when a Mustang II crashed near Big ‘T’ Airport in Senoia, Georgia.

The Coweta County coroner identified the pilot as Mark Nowosielski, a resident of Ocala, Florida. His passenger was Nathan Sorenson, 13, of Senoia.

The NTSB said the aircraft was experimental, built by an amateur, and unregistered.

The board’s accident report said witnesses and video recorded by a witness revealed that the plane had been flying over the area for about 15 minutes before it executed a barrel roll. 

The report went on to say that the canopy opened shortly after and struck the vertical and right horizontal stabilizers. The aircraft then descended nose-first and hit the ground about half a mile south of the airport.

Investigators retained the canopy latch for further examination, the NTSB said.

According to the report, the pilot’s latest Federal Aviation Administration first-class medical certificate was dated October 24, 2019. At the time, he had recorded 11,000 hours of total flight experience.

Meanwhile, the report stated that the owner of the plane said he bought it from a Canadian about a week before the accident. He described Nowosielski as a good friend.

Nowosielski was an award-winning aerobatic pilot who worked full time as a Boeing 737 pilot for Southwest Airlines. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday for Sorenson at Williamson’s Peach State Aerodrome.

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