# Accident 19890325004459A: Socata TB10TOBAGO, Pittsfield, MA, March 25, 1989

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 25, 1989, 22:15 local time
- Place: Pittsfield, MA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.4501° N, 73.2454° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Pittsfield, MA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.4501&lon=-73.2454&mi=10
- Aircraft: N20NQ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N20NQ-1989-08-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Socata TB 10 (registry code 8680696, https://openairdocs.org/model/socata-tb-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SOCATA TB10TOBAGO
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1D
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 92 total, 4 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC89FA105](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC89FA105) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19890325004459A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

FLEW INTO CLOUD OBSCURED MOUNTAIN AT NIGHT VFR. FLIGHT PRECAUTIONS OF MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENT OMITTED IN WX BRIEFING.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC89FA105](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC89FA105), Mar 26, 1989: Aerospatiale TB-10 (N20NQ), Pittsfield, MA, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: INADEQUATE BRIEFING PROVIDED BY THE FLIGHT SERVICE STATION (FSS) SPECIALIST, DARK NIGHT, LOW CLOUDS, AND…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.