PEMBROKE, N.Y. — The National Transportation Safety Board released more than 120 pieces of evidence Wednesday from their investigation into the 2020 plane crash that left nationally renowned attorney Steve Barnes and his niece, Elizabeth Barnes, dead.
The two were killed when Steve Barnes’ plane crashed in the Genesee County town of Pembroke on October 2, 2020.
Steve Barnes, 61, and Elizabeth Barnes, 32, were returning from New Hampshire on the way to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport when the plane went down.
Steve Barnes was a registered pilot and documents show he was in contact with air traffic controllers up until the last three minutes of the flight, and acknowledged he was fine and headed to the airport.
It's then the NTSB report reveals the plane rolled nearly 90 degrees and entered a dive, descending at nearly 14,000 feet per minute.
The report states no flight data was recovered from SD cards found in the wreckage and maintenance logs were also missing from those cards.
The NTSB says weather was not a factor and no drugs were found in Barnes' system.
Barnes was best known as half of the nationwide personal injury firm Cellino & Barnes, along with former partner Ross Cellino, before the lawyers split to create their own practices.
The full report can be found here.
The NTSB had previously released a preliminary report in late-October 2020.