A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the plane in a fatal North Lindenhurst crash had smoke in the cockpit less than two months prior.

A review of the airplane's maintenance logbooks revealed an entry from Jan. 16 that stated, "Pilot reports smoke in cockpit during flight on 01/07/2023. After troubleshooting, flown and tested. Aircraft returned to service with no smoke."

The plane was destroyed in a March 5 accident that killed one passenger and seriously injured the flight instructor and the other passenger.

The NTSB report says the "discovery flight" was a gift from the surviving passenger to her mother, who was killed in the crash.

The flight instructor issued the "mayday" transmission on a 2-mile final approach to the runway and the airplane then turned left, according to the report. The controller reissued landing clearance and observed smoke emanating from the left side of the airplane as it descended from view.

Doorbell and surveillance cameras near the site of crash recorded the airplane at low altitude as it entered trees, ignited spilled fuel and eventually crashed and became engulfed in flames.