Pilot Was Likely Distracted Before Crash That Killed 8 Off North Carolina’s Coast, Investigators Say

BEAUFORT, N.C.—The pilot of a small plane that crashed off North Carolina’s coast in 2022, killing the pilot, four teens and three other adults, was likely distracted while trying to program the aircraft’s flight management system after takeoff, according to a final report from federal investigators. The pilot likely failed to monitor the aircraft’s speed as the plane slowed down and stalled, the report said. The pilot also likely experienced “spatial disorientation” after the stall because of poor weather conditions that limited his visibility. He failed to regain control of the airplane. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published its final report on the crash last week, nearly two years after the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near the southern edge of the Outer Banks....