# Accident 19971228039489A: Cessna 172M, Mansfield, MA, December 28, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 28, 1997, 08:30 local time
- Place: Mansfield, MA
- Airport: Mansfield Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.0009° N, 71.1980° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MANSFIELD MUNI (1B9), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.0009&lon=-71.1980&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9604H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9604H-2017-03-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172M
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,000 total, 30 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA055) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971228039489A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED INTO A WASTE WATER TREATMENT AREA ON TAKEOFF, MANSFIELD, MA. (.4)THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 32 AND CLIMB TO ABOUT 300 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.  IT WAS THEN OBSERVED TO TURN TO THE LEFT, IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, AND DISAPPEAR BEHIND TREES AFTER WHICH IT COLLIDED WITH A POLE AND TERRAIN COMING TO REST UPRIGHT IN A CLEARED AREA.  EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED AN APPROXIMATE HALF-INCH COATING OF ICE COVERING THE TOP OF THE WINGS.  BOTH HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS EXHIBITED THIN PATCHY AREAS OF ICE ALONG THEIR ENTIRE SURFACES.  THIN PATCHES OF ICE WERE ALSO FOUND ON THE FUSELAGE CENTER SECTION, AND THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING STRUT.  POST-CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. PRECIPITATION AT THE AIRPORT BETWEEN 1445 AND 2045 ON THE DAY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, WAS REPORTED AS MIST, LIGHT RAIN, LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS, AND ENDING WITH LIGHT SNOW.  THE NIGHT BEFORE, AND THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, THE TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW FREEZING.             (-23) CRASHED ON TAKE-OFF ON THE GROUNDS OF A WASTE TREATMENT FACILITY DESTROYING THE AIRCRAFT AND SERIOUSLY INJURING THE PILOT.  WITNESS STATEMENTS T HAT THE PILOT WAS ADVISED NOT TO TAKE OFF FROM A CLOSED AIRPORT AND WARNED THAT HE STILL HAD ICE AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ON THE WINGS AND TAIL.

## 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 NYC98LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA055), Dec 28, 1997: Cessna 172 (N9604H), Mansfield, MA, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to remove snow and ice from the aircraft prior to takeoff resulting in degraded climb performance and a subsequent stall/mush condition.

## Other reports on N9604H (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19870818080389I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19870818080389I), Aug 18, 1987: Cessna 172M (N9604H), Norwood, MA, Minor damage. Struck the wing tip of a parked aircraft while taxiing to park.
- [Accident 19780917027699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19780917027699A), Sep 17, 1978: Cessna 172M (N9604H), Old Town, ME, Minor damage. Passenger walked into turning prop.

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.