2 years after fatal Centre County plane crash, federal safety board releases full report
Pilot error likely caused the 2019 crash of a small airplane in Rush Township that killed two State College residents, the National Transportation Safety Board wrote in a report released Thursday.
The safety board also cited weather as a contributing factor of the crash that killed pilot Joseph T. Bernardo and his wife, Valerie Bernardo.
The Cessna 172N departed University Park Airport on May 1, 2019 and was destined for the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, but crashed into the Sandy Ridge Mountain.
Flight track and weather data showed the airplane traveled toward mountainous terrain that was likely obscured by clouds. A witness told investigators the plane was flying below the clouds before the crash, the board wrote.
There was no evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation of the plane, the board wrote.
The safety board was not able to determine whether Bernardo met the necessary experience requirements to undertake the flight because of a lack of available pilot records.
“It is likely that — after departing — the pilot encountered deteriorating weather conditions that obscured the mountainous terrain, and resulted in the pilot’s controlled flight into terrain,” the board wrote in its 10-page report.
Joseph T. Bernardo, 55, died of blunt force trauma. His death was ruled accidental, Centre County Chief Deputy Coroner Judy Pleskonko said Friday.
The New Jersey native was a senior research engineer at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory. He earned a doctoral degree in information sciences and technology from Penn State, where he worked for nine years.
Valerie Bernardo, 54, died of severe traumatic injuries. Her death was also ruled accidental, Pleskonko said.
She earned her master’s degree in nutrition from Penn State and was a registered dietitian for nearly three decades. The Bernardos married May 18, 1986.
First responders had a difficult time locating the crash that was about two miles up the mountain, Mountain Top Fire Company Chief Tim Sharpless said in May 2019.
Emergency personnel worked through heavy fog and densely wooded terrain to find the crash. They remained on scene for about nine hours.