Cessna 172P N62264

Summary

On 14 October 1997 at about 13:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N62264, operated by John N. Campbell, was involved in an accident near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 October 1997 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N62264

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John N. Campbell

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Danbury → Montpelier

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98LA012

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's poor in-flight decision to continue VFR flight in IFR conditions. Factor's in this accident were the pilot's inadequate pre-flight planning, and fog.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated, private pilot was flying in partial visual flight rules (VFR) conditions when he encountered instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions. The pilot continued the flight using a hand held global positioning system (GPS) receiver for navigation. While descending below the cloud layer in an attempt to reach VFR conditions the airplane struck a tree. The airplane remained in flight and a successful landing was made at a nearby airport. The pilot reported he did not receive a weather briefing, and obtained weather information for the flight by viewing the 'weather channel,' and listening to a radio broadcast from the National Weather Service.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.