Cessna 170B N3070A

Summary

On 22 December 2007 at about 17:30 local time, a Cessna 170B registered N3070A was involved in an accident near Alton, New Hampshire, United States. 4 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

22 December 2007 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Alton, New Hampshire, United States

Nearest airport

Locke Lake Airport (NH15)

Coordinates

43.3867, -71.2333

Aircraft

Cessna 170B

Registration

N3070A

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sanford → Alton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08CA068

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance above a frozen lake while maneuvering. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's attempt of the low altitude maneuver, and unfavorable lighting conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he took three friends on a short cross-country pleasure flight. The airplane was entering a downwind leg at the destination airport, when the pilot decided to make a low pass over an adjacent lake, near a friend's property. The pilot said that his depth perception was negatively affected due to the flat light and snow on the ground. While maneuvering over the lake, the right main landing gear contacted the snowy frozen surface, which resulted in the right wing impacting the surface. The airplane came to rest upright on the frozen lake, and sustained substantial damage to the right wing and firewall. The reported weather at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included calm winds and an overcast ceiling at 2,200 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.