The pilot of a small plane reported a “pretty significant engine problem” before a crash on Maryland’s Eastern Shore earlier this month took his life.
Robert Eugene Merlini, 56, of Annapolis, was the only one on board the twin-engine Cessna 402, when it crashed into the water in Easton on July 16.
First reported by The Washington Post, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report found that after taking off from Tipton Airport in Fort Meade just before 9 a.m., Merlini contacted the air control tower some 30 minutes later to report a problem when he was about 12 miles southwest of the Easton Airport.
While following directions from the air control tower, the pilot reported a “pretty bad right engine,” and 30 seconds later declared an emergency, stating that both engines were losing power, the report said.
Air control cleared the plane for landing, but Merlini replied that he was not going to reach the airport and would try to land in a field. The plane made impact on the Tred Avon River some four miles southwest of the Easton Airport.
Merlini was headed to the airport to conduct atmospheric testing flights, the NTSB report said.
Two days before the crash, the plane’s engines had undergone testing by maintenance personnel after an annual inspection. The NTSB report said that the pilot told his manager that 12 gallons of fuel remained in each main fuel tank and that he would add 20 additional gallons to each main fuel tank so he would not have to switch tanks during his flight to Easton.
“Airport security video showed that the pilot added 20 gallons of fuel to each auxiliary fuel tank, rather than the main fuel tanks. The airplane was not flown from the time of that fueling, to the accident flight,” the report said.
Maryland State police said the U.S. Coast Guard as well as authorities in Talbot County responded to the crash.
Divers from the Anne Arundel County Fire Department recovered his body from the water.
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