FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A charter jet company's "culture of complacency and disregard for the rules" led to last year's plane crash in Ohio that killed nine South Floridians, including seven who worked just outside Boca Raton, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
During an agency hearing, investigators said the flight captain and co-pilot were responsible for the crash.
The board also said the Federal Aviation Administration failed to provide adequate oversight of pilot training.
The crash happened Nov. 10, 2015, when the British Aerospace Hawker jet crashed in poor weather, about two miles from the Akron-Fulton International Airport.
The pilot-in-command, Oscar Andres Chavez Mosquera, 40, of Miami, and co-pilot Renato Marchese, 50, of Boynton Beach, died along with the aircraft's seven passengers, who worked for a close-knit real estate firm, Pebb Enterprises.
They were identified by investigators as Jared Weiner, 35; Ori Rom, 32; Diane Smoot, 50; Diana Suriel, 32; Nick Weaver, 36; Gary Shapiro, 35; and Thomas Jay Virgin, 31.
Investigators found the plane was too high in the air as it approached. The plane stalled when the co-pilot slowed the aircraft, mentioning another plane in the area. The slower speed caused the plane to stall and crash.
NTSB investigators said ExecuFlight, the company that operates the charter jet, disregarded safety standards.
"ExecuFlight's casual attitude toward compliance with standards illustrates a disregard for operational safety, an attitude that likely led its pilots to believe that strict adherence was not required," said Robert Sumwalt, a board member with the NTSB.
Investigators said ExecuFlight may not have been aware of Mosquera's history because he was fired for something that "had nothing to do with performance of the pilot." The company was aware of the co-pilots' history but still hired him, investigators said.
Mosquera was fired from his previous job for failing to show up for training, while Marchese had been fired from his previous job for "significant performance deficiencies during simulator training."
Records found that Mosquera was given 100 percent on a test, even though he actually failed with a score of 40 percent.
"This example highlights the check-the-box approach by ExecuFlight that minimizes the importance of teamwork, communication and safety," said Sathya Silva, another board member with the NTSB.
Also contributing to the crash may have been an inadequate amount of rest for Marchese.
Records found by the NTSB indicated Marchese got seven hours and 45 minutes of rest while he was supposed to get 10.
The president of ExecuFlight, Augusto Lewkowicz, said under sworn testimony that Marchese did get 10 hours of rest.
"It probably means one of two things: Somebody's memory isn't correct, or somebody is not being truthful," Sumwalt said.
Among the dozens of findings from the board, investigators found:
_The captain should have taken control of the plane when the plane's approach was too slow.
_The pilots were not affected by drugs or alcohol.
_The impact of the crash may have been survivable but the rapidly spreading fire removed any chance of escape.
_ExecuFlight had multiple opportunities to correct its pilots' disregard for procedures but did not do so.
