Report Says Witness Heard Plane in Distress Before Crash

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) _ A National Transportation Safety Board report says witnesses told investigators a vintage airplane that crashed last summer was obviously in distress when it went down and killed the pilot near the Moorhead airport.

Mark Yaggie, of Breckenridge, the only person onboard died when the T-28 military training plane crashed July 2. Yaggie was headed from Fargo, North Dakota to Pelican Rapids when he asked air traffic controllers to be diverted to Moorhead.

One witness said there was a ``terrible racket'' like a gearbox or engine was failing.

The plane struck a light pole near an Interstate 94 weigh station before crashing into a field.