A cargo plane went down less than three minutes after takeoff from Spirit of St. Louis Airport on March 17, killing the pilot and sparking a fire on the airfield, according to a preliminary report the National Transportation Safety Board released April 7.

Edward Ruhbeck, 65, of Spanish Lake, was the sole occupant of the Aero Commander 500-B operated by Central Airlines. He was fatally injured in the early-morning crash.

The NTSB report lays out a brief, harrowing timeline. Ruhbeck departed runway 26L at 12:21 a.m. on an unscheduled cargo flight. Satellite tracking data shows the plane never climbed above 850 feet and entered what the NTSB described as a modified right traffic pattern before the accident. The last data point came at 12:23:57 a.m.

The plane came to rest upright roughly 1,700 feet east of the runway threshold and about 50 feet north of the centerline. The crash sparked a fire that stretched approximately 300 feet long and 50 feet wide.

KSDK reported that Spirit of St. Louis Airport officials praised Ruhbeck's actions in a statement following the crash.

The NTSB has not determined a probable cause. Weather conditions at the time of the crash and details about Ruhbeck's flight experience have not been publicly released. The federal investigation is ongoing, and all findings in the preliminary report remain subject to change.