A new preliminary report is giving investigators and the public a closer look at the moments leading up to the Fresno plane crash that claimed the lives of four members of the Eady family earlier this month.
The National Transportation Safety Board has now released its initial findings from the September 5 crash near Sierra Sky Park Airport in northwest Fresno, revealing that the aircraft had already attempted to take off once before the final departure.
The report does not yet establish the official cause of the crash, but it provides a detailed timeline of what happened during the minutes before the aircraft left the airport for the second time.
The aircraft was a Grumman American Aviation Corp. AA-5 operated by Purpose Flight Inc. On board were 41-year-old pilot Danna Eady, her husband Craig Eady, 44, and their two younger sons.
The family was preparing to fly from Sierra Sky Park toward Atwater when the sequence of events began.
According to surveillance footage reviewed by the NTSB, Danna and the three passengers boarded the aircraft at the airplane owner’s home at the airport.
The plane then began its first takeoff attempt.
But halfway along the runway, the takeoff was aborted.
The aircraft continued toward the end of the runway, turned around and returned toward the owner’s home.
That first aborted takeoff has become one of the key details in the preliminary investigation.
After returning, Danna reportedly contacted the aircraft owner about a problem with the plane’s radio. Text messages reviewed by investigators show that the issue was discussed before the aircraft attempted to leave the airport again.
The owner then contacted a mechanic to look into the problem.
A short time later, the mechanic arrived and examined the aircraft.
The plane was subsequently seen taxiing toward the runway once again.
This time, the aircraft began another takeoff.
According to witnesses interviewed by investigators, the engine sounded weak during the second attempt. Witnesses reportedly did not hear the engine misfire or sputter, but they noticed that the aircraft appeared to struggle as it gained altitude.
The NTSB report says the airplane lifted off with a pronounced nose-high attitude, remaining only about 30 to 40 feet above the ground as it continued beyond the runway.
Surveillance footage captured the aircraft farther along its path before it eventually moved out of view.
The crash occurred approximately 1,000 feet northwest of the end of the runway, near trees at the top of a slope.
Investigators identified a large tree branch near the top of a roughly 40-foot tree as the first point of contact.
Broken branches and other limbs were found around the area.
The aircraft came to rest upright, but the nose landing gear had separated from the plane and was found uphill near the trees. Much of the aircraft was subsequently destroyed by a fire that began after the impact, with flames spreading across roughly one acre of surrounding vegetation.
Emergency crews found Danna and Craig outside the main wreckage with severe injuries.
The couple’s two younger sons were also aboard the aircraft and did not survive the crash.
Danna, who was piloting the plane, was transported to a hospital but later succumbed to her injuries on September 5.
Craig remained hospitalized with severe burn injuries and passed away two days later, on September 7, surrounded by members of his family.
The Eadys’ two older children were not aboard the aircraft and survived the incident.
The family has since received support from friends, relatives and members of the local aviation community.
Danna was more than a passenger in the flight.
She was a certified flight instructor who had been teaching in Reedley College’s Flight Science Department since 2025. She also founded Meraki Aviation, an aircraft rental and instruction business, and was involved with aviation organizations at Sierra Sky Park.
Friends and colleagues remembered her for her enthusiasm for flying and her involvement in programs that helped introduce young people to aviation.
Her husband, Craig, was also well known within the family and local community.
The couple’s two surviving older children are now facing the enormous loss of both parents and their two younger brothers.
A support campaign has been established to help the surviving children and family with medical, funeral and other expenses.
But while the community continues to rally around the family, investigators are still working to answer the most important question:
Why did the aircraft lose the ability to safely continue its flight after the second takeoff?
The preliminary NTSB report provides several important clues, including the earlier aborted takeoff, the reported radio problem, the mechanic’s inspection, the weak-sounding engine and the aircraft’s nose-high attitude.
However, those details do not yet establish a final cause.
The NTSB has moved the wreckage to a secure facility for further examination. Investigators will continue analyzing the aircraft, available video, mechanical components, witness statements and other evidence before issuing a final report.
That process could take considerably longer.
For now, the preliminary report is best understood as a timeline of what investigators know so far — not a final explanation of why the aircraft went down.
The Eady family had set out on what should have been a routine flight from a familiar airport.
Instead, a first takeoff was interrupted by a reported radio problem. The aircraft returned, a mechanic examined it, and the family attempted to depart again.
Minutes later, the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude.
Then it disappeared from the surveillance camera’s view.
The next moments brought emergency crews to the hillside near the San Joaquin River, where the aircraft was found badly damaged and surrounded by the aftermath of the crash.
Now, nearly three weeks later, investigators have a clearer timeline but are still searching for the final answers.
The NTSB’s investigation remains active, and additional findings could change or expand the preliminary picture as more evidence is examined.
For the Eady family, however, the investigation is only one part of what comes next.
Their community is remembering Danna not only as the pilot involved in the crash, but as an instructor, business owner and aviation enthusiast who spent years helping others pursue their own dreams of flying.
And behind the investigation is a family now trying to move forward without four members who should have been returning home from a short flight.
The preliminary report may explain more about those final minutes, but the full story of what went wrong in the sky above Fresno is still being pieced together.