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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- A faulty landing beacon at the Eveleth airport cannot fully explain why the plane carrying Sen. Paul Wellstone crashed last year, killing him and seven others, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Pilots flying a simulator meant to duplicate conditions near the northern Minnesota airport at the time of the October 25 crash were able to safely land, according to the NTSB report released Tuesday.
Two days after the accident, investigators announced the beacon was "slightly out of tolerance."
Between October 26 and December 23, about a dozen test flights were performed to determine the beacon's culpability. Those tests indicated that the closer the planes came to the airport, the more accurate the signal became.
Previous NTSB reports have noted that the pilots were flying below recommended speeds on the plane's final approach to the airport, raising the possibility of pilot error as the cause.
No date has been set for the final report on the crash that killed Wellstone, his wife, daughter, three campaign aides and the two pilots.
Pilots flying a simulator meant to duplicate conditions near the northern Minnesota airport at the time of the October 25 crash were able to safely land, according to the NTSB report released Tuesday.
Two days after the accident, investigators announced the beacon was "slightly out of tolerance."
Between October 26 and December 23, about a dozen test flights were performed to determine the beacon's culpability. Those tests indicated that the closer the planes came to the airport, the more accurate the signal became.
Previous NTSB reports have noted that the pilots were flying below recommended speeds on the plane's final approach to the airport, raising the possibility of pilot error as the cause.
No date has been set for the final report on the crash that killed Wellstone, his wife, daughter, three campaign aides and the two pilots.