# Accident 19980301002189A: Cessna 172P, Hampton, VA, March 1, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 1, 1998, 09:36 local time
- Place: Hampton, VA
- Airport: Langley Afb
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.0810° N, 76.3705° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.0810&lon=-76.3705&mi=10
- Aircraft: N62082, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N62082-1998-06-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: LYC O320D2J
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 146 total, 39 in this make and model, 3 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98FA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA032) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980301002189A

## Narrative

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

DEPARTED INTO LOW CEILING BY MISTAKE. TRIED TURN BACK. ENTERED CLOUDS LOST IT. DOVE INTO BUILDING. PIC RIGHT SEAT. (.4) THE TWO PILOTS FILED A LOCAL VFR FLIGHT PLAN AND DEPARTED THE 10,000 FEET LONG RUNWAY TO THE EAST. ACCORDING TO UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WEATHER OBSERVERS, A CLOUD LAYER AT 300 FEET WITH FOG WAS APPROACHING THE AIRPORT FROM THE NORTHEAST AT THE SAME TIME THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE TRANSMITTED TO THE TOWER, `...WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK FOR LANDING...UH...THE CEILING IS LOWER THAN WE THOUGHT.' THE TOWER CONTROLLER ACKNOWLEDGED THE CALL AND INSTRUCTED THE AIRPLANE TO REPORT WHEN IT REACHED THE BASE LEG OF THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. THE TOWER CONTROLLER OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE ENTER A CLIMBING LEFT TURN AND DISAPPEAR INTO THE APPROACHING CLOUD LAYER. HE SAID, `IT WAS NICE AND CLEAR IN ALL QUADRANTS WITH A LITTLE OVERCAST/LIGHT FOG TO THE EAST.' WITNESSES IN PROXIMITY TO THE CRASH SITE REPORTED THEY HEARD THE AIRPLANE BUT COULD NOT SEE IT UNTIL IT DESCENDED VERTICALLY OUT OF THE LOW CLOUD COVER. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN AND A BUILDING IN THE VICINITY OF THE DOWNWIND LEG OF THE TRAFFIC PATTERN. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO    PRE-IMPACT ANOMALIES. THE PILOT IN THE LEFT SEAT DID NOT POSSES AN INSTRUMENT RATING. (-23) SEE NARRATIVE #IAD98FA032

## 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 IAD98FA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA032), Mar 1, 1998: Cessna 172P (N62082), Langley Afb, VA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions, and the subsequent loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. A factor in the accident was the low ceiling.

## Other reports on N62082 (1)

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

- [Incident 19821215065839I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19821215065839I), Dec 15, 1982: Cessna 172P (N62082), East Hampton, NY, Minor damage. Too low on final. Left main gear was damaged by striking a snowbank at the runway threshold.

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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