Cessna 172P N96273
22 December 1999 · Leominster, Massachusetts, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 22 December 1999 at about 19:50 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N96273 was involved in an accident near Leominster, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 19:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Leominster, Massachusetts, United States
- Nearest airport
- Fitchburg Municipal (FIT)
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P
- Registration
- N96273
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Fitchburg → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- NYC00FA058
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to see and avoid the private pilot's airplane. Factors included the student pilot's non-standard traffic pattern entry, the private pilot's failure to check for other traffic before turning onto final, and the position of the sun at the time of the accident.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The private pilot was conducting landings in a left traffic pattern to Runway 32, and the student pilot was inbound on an instructional solo flight. The student pilot called that he was 4 miles north-northeast of the airport, and shortly thereafter, the private pilot called his downwind leg. The private pilot's airplane completed the downwind leg, then turned onto base, then onto final. On final, the student pilot's airplane overtook it, and then collided with it. The propeller from student pilot's airplane cut through the top of its right wing, and the left strut from the student pilot's airplane impacted its right fuselage. The two airplanes locked together, then made a slow, approximately 160-degree turn while descending rapidly to the ground, about 2,000 feet from the approach end of runway. The airport did not have an operating control tower, and turns in the traffic pattern were to the left. At the time of the collision, the sun was about 90 degrees to the left of the airplanes, about 12 degrees above the horizon.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172P 172P | N96273 | - | Destroyed |
| Cessna 172R 172R | N672DW | - | Destroyed |
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 1999 | Cessna 172A | Shoshone, California, United States | Charles R. Christman | No injuries | - |
| 8 May 1999 | Cessna 172M | Lancaster, Texas, United States | Marvin E. Scott | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 1999 | Cessna 172P | Grants, New Mexico, United States | Robertson Aviation | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Jan 1999 | Cessna 172 | Centre, Alabama, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Sep 1999 | Cessna 172N | San Jose, California, United States | Concord Flight Intl, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jan 1999 | Cessna 172E | Guymon, Oklahoma, United States | Denny O'hara | No injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 1999 | Piper PA-34-200 | Hopedale, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Oct 1999 | Piper PA-12 | Orange, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Sep 1999 | Cessna 337C | North Adams, Massachusetts, United States | George F. Shelton | Fatal | 2 |
| 18 Sep 1999 | Cessna 182 | Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jan 1999 | Beechcraft 1900D | Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 Apr 1999 | Cessna 172P | Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |