NTSB: Plane had mechanical problems before crash

STOTTS CITY, Mo. -- A federal report says a plane had mechanical problems shortly before it crashed in southwest Missouri, killing two people.

The crash Nov. 4 near Stotts City killed 50-year-old Richard A. Armstrong Jr., of Neosho, Mo., and 41-year-old Royce Deryl Edwards II of Joplin, Mo.

The National Transportation Board says in a preliminary report that a witness saw fluid spewing out of the Cessna's right engine about 25 minutes after it took off from the Monett airport. The pilot was trying to find a place to land when the plane suddenly pitched upward, rolled and then crashed.

Its registration number corresponds to a Cessna registered to Edwards.