NTSB: Plane carrying OK State coaches flying low before crash

PERRYVILLE, AR - An accident report released Monday says the plane carrying four people, including two Oklahoma State University women’s basketball coaches, was flying low and making turns shortly before it crashed near Perryville.

We're getting more information about what happened in the moments before the plane carrying two Oklahoma State basketball coaches went down near Perryville.

The National Transportation and Safety Board preliminary report shows the Piper PA-28-180 plane at 7000 feet when the aircraft began making turns. Eyewitnesses say it then made a sharp nose-first descent towards the ground.

"Most accidents are a chain of events so we want to understand each link in that chain,” says Peter Knudson with the NTSB. “What led to what, what was happening immediately prior to the accident."

Knudson says the next step is to review maintenance logs and check for any medical issues surrounding the pilot Olin Brandstetter.

He along with his wife Paula, Oklahoma State women's Basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna died November 17th when the craft went down in the densely wooded Ouachita National Forest about 8 miles southeast of Perryville.

"We do a 72 hour background of the pilot,” Knudson says. “We talk to those who knew the pilot to determine was there anything in that 72 hours prior to the accident that could have compromised the pilot's ability to safely operate the aircraft."

The work to put all the pieces together expected to take another 12 months.