INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 24-year-old student pilot who died in a plane crash earlier this month suffered multiple blunt trauma injuries, including skull and rib fractures, an autopsy report shows.
Medical examiners ruled the death of Yujia Qu – a student at FlightSafety Academy – as accidental. The autopsy report, completed by the District 19 Medical Examiner’s Department, was finished March 14.
The autopsy comes as the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate what caused the deadly March 5 crash in a wooded area near the 7700 block of 90th Avenue. A preliminary report showed Qu was not cleared by her flight instructor to fly the aircraft the day of the crash, a requirement for student pilots under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
The town Qu lived in was not released by authorities. FlightSafety International Vice-President of Communications, Steve Phillips, said FlightSafety Academy has student housing on its property, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport.
Phillips previously said the aviation company reached out to Qu’s family to express its condolences. Investigators said the crash happened at 7 a.m.
The small Piper PA28 plane Qu was piloting elevated to 550 feet before it lost control and descended. The plane struck a 30-foot tall tree before hitting more trees during the wreck, authorities report.
Indian River County sheriff’s helicopters and radar equipment from the Patrick Air Force Base tracked the damaged plane two miles into the woods, officials said. The plane was about seven miles northwest of its scheduled destination – the Vero airport – where it took off from.
The autopsy showed Qu sustained rib fractures, a skull fracture, left ankle fracture and lung contusions, according to reports. Qu was pronounced dead at the scene, Indian River County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Kyle Kofke previously said.
The woman flew alone, officials said. Toxicology reports show there were no drugs found in the woman’s system.
Qu was scheduled to conduct the solo cross-country flight the day before the crash, reports show. The initial flight was cancelled because of weather conditions.
Qu’s instructor told authorities there was a high probability the March 5 flight would not take place because of the weather, reports show. Authorities could not comment on if weather played a role the time of the incident, which saw mostly cloudy skies, 10 to 16 mph winds, and light rain, forecasters said.
Qu was issued a student pilot certificate in May 2018 and had more than 95 flight hours, reports show. The final cause of the crash will be released when the investigation is finished, which can take from one to two years, said Eric Weiss, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.
