Cessna 172G N1330F

Summary

On 12 October 1998 at about 19:30 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N1330F was involved in an accident near Bennington, Vermont, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 October 1998 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bennington, Vermont, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N1330F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Keene → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC99FA007

2 people died.

The pilot's VFR flight into IMC. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of recent experience, mountainous/hilly terrain, and clouds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane departed on a 'leaf watching' flight. Afterwards, no one saw the airplane or talked with the pilot. The airplane was found approximately 800 feet below the top of a 3,800 foot mountain. The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate, no instrument rating, and had accumulated 36.3 hours in the previous 18 months. Prior to that, he had not flown for 35 years. A flight instructor described the pilot's abilities as marginal. Weather at the time of the accident was approximately 1,200 foot overcast and 2 miles of visibility. A witness reported the accident site was obscured by clouds. The airplane entered the trees wings level, creating a 3 degree descent path.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.