BUCYRUS, Ohio – Investigators have determined that a plane that crashed killing a Texas family of four had fuel and its engine was running properly as it rapidly lost altitude, a preliminary report shows.

The National Transportation Safety Board released the report on the Dec. 17 crash on its Web site either Tuesday or Saturday, said NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz.

Paul Martin, 49, was piloting the plane from Tulsa, Okla., to Belfast, Maine, the report said. The plane was scheduled to make stops along the way in Greenville, Ill., Wadsworth, Ohio, and Gansevoort, N.Y.

Paul and Lillian Martin of Austin, Texas, and their children, 10-year-old Kitanna and 11-year-old Shawn, died on impact, authorities said. The family was headed to a farm it owned in Searsmont, Maine.

Lopatkiewicz said the NTSB’s next step would be to conduct a factual report, which would not likely be completed for months.

Radar at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport showed the plane was on a rapid descent, the report said.

The report said the plane was on a northeast heading and was at 11,600 feet at 7:02 p.m. and 14 seconds. Four seconds later, the plane was at 10,700 feet, five seconds later at 9,800 feet and 32.7 seconds later it was at 7,300 feet.

The engine was buried three feet in the ground.