Report: Pilot reported engine trouble before fatal crash

JACKSON, Ky. (AP) — A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of a small experimental plane reported engine trouble before the aircraft crashed in eastern Kentucky killing him. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the agency said 62-year-old pilot Timothy Michael Pankiewicz had flown out of Green Cove Springs, Florida, where he lived. The report said the pilot declared an emergency in the experimental, amateur-built Rans RV-8 as he flew over Breathitt County on May 24, telling an air traffic controller the engine had lost oil pressure and failed. Emergency crews found the wreckage in flames.