# Accident 19980202000879A: Cessna 172K, Stow, MA, February 2, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 2, 1998, 09:00 local time
- Place: Stow, MA
- Airport: Minute Man Airfield Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.4748° N, 71.5201° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.4748&lon=-71.5201&mi=10
- Aircraft: N79588, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N79588-2004-03-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172K (registry code 2072430, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172k) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172K
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,800 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA063) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980202000879A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED UND UNK CIRC IN WOODED AREA, PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ. ACFT WAS DESTROYED BOXBOROUGH, MA. (.4) AFTER DEPARTURE, A WITNESS OBSERVED THE CESSNA 172 AT A LOW ALTITUDE WITH THE NOSE BOBBING UP AND DOWN.  ANOTHER WITNESS SAW THE AIRPLANE IN A LEFT TURN AND HEARD A POWER REDUCTION.  THE AIRPLANE THEN DOVE INTO A WOODED AREA.  A POST-CRASH FIRE CONSUMED THE COCKPIT AND WINGS.  THE INVESTIGATION FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WITH THE ENGINE OR AIRFRAME.  WITNESSES REPORTED FROST ON THE WINGS OF AIRPLANES IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  EXAMINATION OF THE OUTSIDE TIE DOWN WHERE THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN SECURED REVEALED NO EVIDENCE THAT THE TOPS OF THE WINGS HAD BEEN EXAMINED OR DE-ICED.               (-23) AIRCRAFT MAY HAVE DEPARTED WITH FROST ON UPPER SURFACES.  UNABLE TO CLIMB, CRASHED ABOUT A MILE FROM AIRPORT.

## 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 NYC98FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA063), Feb 2, 1998: Cessna 172K (N79588), Boxborough, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot to remove the frost on the wings before departure, which resulted in a stall

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.

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