NASCAR plane in fatal crash had broken cables

Control cables were broken in the NASCAR plane that crashed into two suburban homes, killing five people earlier this month, federal investigators said Tuesday.
Inspectors found several breaks in the cables running through the right wing and forward fuselage of the twin-engine Cessna 310 that crashed July 10 in Sanford, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

However, the report did not speculate on whether the cables broke before or during the crash, and did not specify what parts of the aircraft those cables would have controlled.

The cause of the crash will not be determined for several months, officials said.

"They're just verifying what they can in the wreckage," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.

A longer factual report won't be issued until late 2007 or early 2008, Lopatkiewicz said.

Witnesses had reported seeing smoke trailing from the plane as it sped low over the neighborhood and seeing its wings "rocking" before it sharply banked and slammed into the homes, the report said.

The crash killed both people aboard the plane, NASCAR Aviation pilot Michael Klemm and Dr. Bruce Kennedy, the husband of International Speedway Corp. President Lesa France Kennedy. More at AP article