Frank Casella

Rockwell Grand Commander 680

Approximately two minutes after takeoff, witnesses saw the airplane pull up sharply into a steep climb from underneath an 800-foot ceiling. The airplane went into an uncontrolled, nearly vertical dive and impacted into a river. The pilot did not hold multi-engine or instrument ratings. Individuals who knew the pilot, including an instructor who had flown with him, stated that they had doubted the pilot's competence but that the pilot had been confident of his own flying ability.