ERIE — A student pilot was in control of the small plane that crashed in Erie a week ago, killing longtime local Matthew Crine, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Emmett Murphy, 58, of Riverton, Wyo., was flying the SportStar plane during the lesson with Crine, 41, onboard as the a commercial certified flight instructor.

According to the NTSB report, the flight departed at 1:30 p.m. last Saturday from runway 15 at Erie Airpark.

According to witnesses, the airplane was performing touch and go landings on the runway and reversed its course 180 degrees from a southerly direction to a northerly direction.

“The airplane nose pitched up and then dropped.

The airplane spiraled to the ground, impacting in a slight nose low, right wing low attitude,” the report said.

Both Murphy and Crine were killed in the accident.

The NTSB report is preliminary and will be updated with a final report when the investigation is completed.

Crine, who moved to Summit County in 1988, earned his private pilot’s license about seven years ago and had been a certified instruction for about 18 months.

He split his time between homes in Fairplay and Wheat Ridge and ran his business, Ten Two Cabinetry, in and around the county.

A service will be held for Crine at 10 a.m. today at Crown Hill Funeral in Wheat Ridge, followed by a gathering at Crine’s home in Wheat Ridge.

Crine’s friends are also planning a local get-together to remember him.

For details or questions call Addison Cummings at (970) 389-5196 or Kent Schuhart at (970) 453-4191.