Poor decision making is the probable cause of a 2006 plane crash in Cresco that killed two pilots, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
    The Cessna 560 aircraft crashed in a Cresco corn field July 19 after attempting to land on the Ellen Church Field Airport runway. The plane was on its way from Oxford, Miss., to Rochester, Minn.
    The impact killed pilots Clyde Lewis and William Eisner, both of Jackson, Miss. Passengers Robert Paulk of Theodore, Ala., and Johnny Fayard, of Gulfport, Miss., sustained serious injuries.
    The NTSB report, which was released May 7, claims the accident most likely occurred due to the flight crew’s “inadequate aeronautical decision-making” and “poor crew resource management.”
    The flight was scheduled to land at Rochester International Airport in Rochester, Minn. The pilots attempted to continue on to their planned destination, despite on-board radar and weather advisories showing severe thunderstorms and wind gusts in the area. The NTSB report says the pilots should have diverted their route to a suitable airport earlier in the flight to avoid the weather conditions.
    About three minutes prior to the crash, the cockpit voice recorder documented the pilots begin to discuss landing at an alternative destination.
    The pilots became aware of the Cresco airport, either from spotting it from the cockpit window or from looking at a map, the report states. They decided to land at the unfamiliar airport.        
    Investigators say the cockpit voice recorder did not show the pilots “adequately communicate” to air traffic control that the flight divert from its preplanned destination.
    The recorded conversation shows that one of the pilots initially guessed the Cresco runway was about 5,000 feet, but the flight crew did not utilize on-board navigational charts or other resources to confirm the length and  direction of the runway.
    Investigators said the flight crew also failed to recognize or respond to a warning system telling them to “pull up” as they neared the ground. The alarm was activated because the warning system did not recognize the runway since it was shorter than 3,500 feet long. The cockpit recorder indicated that the pilots incorrectly believed the warning went off as a result of the descent rate.
    Runway 33 at the Ellen Church Field Airport is 2,949 feet long. The Cessna needed about 5,200 feet to stop on the wet runway with a 10-knot tailwind.
    “Because the flight crew did not look up the runway length and did not heed indications that the runway was too short ... they landed with inadequate runway length to either land the airplane on the runway or abort the landing,” the report states.
    The airplane continued another 1,700 feet after exiting the runway, then stopped in a corn field.
    The Cessna contained enough fuel to have continued to an airport with a suitable runway length, the report states.
    The report also notes the unidentified right seat pilot, who was known to have had a history of back pain, had multiple prescription and nonprescription painkillers, a prescription muscle relaxant and nonprescription allergy and antacid medications in his possession. None of the medications are considered illicit drugs, according to the NTSB report.
    The NTSB could not locate any medical records describing treatment for this condition.
    A toxicology report showed recent use of a prescription muscle relaxant, which the report says could have impaired the pilot. Back pain itself or other physical symptoms could have also distracted or impaired the pilot. NTSB investigators could not determine if the medication or symptoms played a part in the crash.