Plane Crash List

Cessna 172 N9604H

28 December 1997 · Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States · Serious injuries

Summary

On 28 December 1997 at about 13:30 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N9604H was involved in an accident near Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 13:30
Classification
Accident
Location
Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States
Nearest airport
Mansfield Muni Airport (1B9)
Coordinates
Not recorded
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N9604H
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Unknown → Bridgeport
Aircraft damage
Destroyed
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
NYC98LA055

People

1 person was seriously injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
3 0 1 1 1

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to remove snow and ice from the aircraft prior to takeoff resulting in degraded climb performance and a subsequent stall/mush condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was observed to takeoff from runway 32 and climb to about 300 feet above the ground. It was then observed to turn to the left, in a nose down attitude, and disappear behind trees after which it collided with a pole and terrain coming to rest upright in a cleared area. Examination of the wreckage revealed an approximate half-inch coating of ice covering the top of the wings. Both horizontal stabilizers exhibited thin patchy areas of ice along their entire surfaces. Thin patches of ice were also found on the fuselage center section, and the leading edge of the right wing strut. Post-crash examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction. Precipitation at the airport between 1445 and 2045 on the day before the accident, was reported as mist, light rain, light rain and snow showers, and ending with light snow. The night before, and the day of the accident, the temperatures were below freezing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Cessna 172 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
28 Jun 1997 Cessna 172P
N55121
Fowlerville, Michigan, United States - No injuries -
15 Jul 1997 Cessna 172N
N737EV
Lakeland, Florida, United States - No injuries -
20 Jul 1997 Cessna 172M
N13428
Athens, Tennessee, United States Michael B. Guest No injuries -
24 Nov 1997 Cessna 172N
N6463D
La Jolla, California, United States Richard Jones Fatal 1
8 Aug 1997 Cessna 172P
N66098
Rockhill, South Carolina, United States Scott S. Fisher Minor injuries -
22 Mar 1997 Cessna 172
N733LK
Middletown, Ohio, United States Barbara F. Schmidt No injuries -

All 12,209 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
29 Jan 1997 Cessna 152
N67898
North Andover, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
- No injuries -
7 Jun 1997 Piper PA-17
N4832H
Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
- Serious injuries -
8 Jun 1997 Schweizer SGS 135
N17976
Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
- Serious injuries -
27 Sep 1997 Fairchild Hiller FH-1100
N5045F
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
- Fatal 1
25 Jan 1997 Cessna 402C
N121PB
Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
Hyannis Air Service No injuries -
22 Jul 1997 Cessna 172E
N3553S
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States
no coordinates
Andrew H Liebfried No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States