The probable cause of a plane crash atop Mount Equinox on Feb. 6 was the pilot’s “improper decision” to continue flying despite poor visibility due to weather conditions, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board released May 9.
The pilot, John Murphy, from the Baltimore, Maryland, area, said he has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration to create a plan to prevent future crashes because the “mistakes that I made are correctable with training.”
“I'm just taking this process with the FAA seriously to identify the root cause of this problem, which was my decision-making in the flight, so that I can happily move forward and fly with my family again, safely and comfortably,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he has been flying for about 10 years, and his father taught him to love flying, which he passed down to his son, Josiah Murphy, who is an aircraft mechanic. John Murphy said his pilot license is on a medical hold, but he plans to resume flying when his medical paperwork is approved.
There were no mechanical issues with the Piper PA-28-235 plane John Murphy was flying when the crash occurred, according to the report. The pilot attempted to navigate through heavy cloud cover by flying below the clouds, which he said he soon realized was neither “legal nor safe” amid changing weather, according to the report. John Murphy then tried to ascend but noticed a decrease in power and airspeed and ice forming on the airplane.
The plane stalled and spun out, and the plane crashed into trees near the peak of Mount Equinox. The wings of the plane broke off from the body of the plane, which landed in 4 feet of snow, according to the report.
John Murphy, son Josiah and daughter Cheyenne Murphy all survived. John Murphy had a head injury, whiplash and broke a bone in his hand, Josiah had a head injury, whiplash and chest bruising, and Cheyenne only had minor whiplash.
The family were en route from the Baltimore area to the Rutland Regional Airport for a ski trip to Killington Mountain Resort before the plane crash. John Murphy said his “crucial error” was not waiting to leave the airport until the poor weather in his flight path lifted.
“I was wanting to go skiing so bad,” John Murphy said. “I wasn't objectively looking at the weather. I was wishfully looking at the weather, hoping Mother Nature was going to accommodate me.”
After the “10 minutes of terror” he experienced while the plane was in descent, John Murphy said he gained a deeper empathy for those who have had traumatic experiences. He also said he has a “new appreciation for first responders and what they do” following the rescue.
“It just continues to raise my compassion,” John Murphy said. “I have more of an appreciation for others and sympathy for others experiencing it that I didn't have before.”
