# Accident 19980916037909A: Cessna 152, Ellington, CT, September 16, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 16, 1998, 20:40 local time - Place: Ellington, CT - Airport: Ellington Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.9152° N, 72.4709° 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=41.9152&lon=-72.4709&mi=10 - Aircraft: N307DW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N307DW-2001-04-11) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 152 - Reported engine: LYC O235L2C - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 5,113 total, 52 in this make and model, 54 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA188) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980916037909A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1998, ABOUT 2040 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 152, N307DW, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING NEAR ELLINGTON, CONNECTICUT. THE CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE DUAL INSTRUCTION FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ABOUT 1940. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. ACCORDING TO AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), THE DUAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT WAS DESTINED FOR AN INTERMEDIATE STOP AT THE BRADLEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BDL), WINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT, AND TO TERMINATE AT KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE. AS THE FLIGHT NEARED BDL, THE PILOTS RECEIVED VFR TRAFFIC ADVISORIES FROM BRADLEY APPROCAH CONTROL. THE FAA INSPECTOR FURTHER SAID THE PILOT REPORTED A POWER LOSS, AND REQUESTED RADAR VECTORS TO THE NEAREST AIRPORT. HE WAS INSTRUCTED THAT ELLINGTON AIRPORT WAS THE CLOSEST, AND RECEIVED VECTORS TO THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT WAS THEN ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND REQUESTED TO CONTINUE TO BDL. A FEW MINUTES AFTER THE ENGINE RESTART, THE ENGINE LOST POWER A SECOND TIME. WHEN ADVISED OF THE POWER LOSS, THE CONTROLLER INSTRUCTED THE PILOT THAT SKYLARK AIRPORT WAS CLOSEST; HOWEVER, THE PILOT REQUESTED TO GO TO ELLINGTON. THE PILOT THEN EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTY IN VISUALLY ACQUIRING THE AIRPORT. FOLLOWING VISUAL ACQUISITION OF ELLINTON AIRPORT, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE AIRPORT AND SET UP FOR AN OFF AIRPORT LANDING. THE LANDING WAS PERFORMED IN AN OPEN FIELD WITH A SOFT SURFACE. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE WHEELS DUG IN AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. BOTH OCCUPANTS EXITED THE AIRPLANE UNAIDED. THE AIRPLANE WAS EXAMINED BY AN FAA INSPECTOR WHO REPORTED BOTH FUEL TANKS WERE EMPTY. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FUEL SIPHONING, OR FUEL SPILL FROM UNDER THE FUEL CAPS. ABOUT 1/4 OF A CUP OF FUEL WAS DRAINED FROM THE MAIN SUMP. THE FUEL TANKS WERE WET, BUT ONLY CONTAINED A FEW OUNCES OF FUEL. ALL FUEL RECOVERED WAS BRIGHT AND CLEAR, AND WITHOUT VISIBLE CONTAMINATION. DOCUMENTS RECOVERED FROM THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE FLIGHT BETWEEN NASHUA AND BDL WAS PLANNED TO TAKE ABOUT 1 HOUR, AND THE PILOT HAD PLANNED FOR 2 HOURS OF FUEL ONBOARD AT DEPARTURE. ACCORDING TO THE FAA AIRPORT FACILITY DIRECTORY, ELLINGTON AIRPORT DID NOT HAVE A ROTATING BEACON. THE RUNW AY LIGHTS WERE LOW INTENSITY, AND WERE PLACARDED AS NON-STANDARD, DUE TO SPACING AND COLOR VARIATION. THE RUNWAY AT ELLINGTON AIRPORT WAS ORIENTATED 1/19, AND WAS 1,800 FEET LONG. THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROACHING ELLINGTON AIRPORT FROM THE SOUTHWEST, AT AN APPROXIMATE 45 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE RUNWAY. ACCORDING TO FAA RECORDS, THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR HAD IN EXCESS OF 2,000 FLIGHT HOURS. (FROM .4) THE STUDENT PILOT AND INSTRUCTOR PLANNED ON A NIGHT CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT OF 1 HOUR DURATION. THE STUDENT PILOT REPORTED THERE WAS 2 HOURS OF FUEL ONBOARD AND THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ACCEPTED HIS WORD. THE ENGINE LOST POWER AS THEY NEARED THEIR DESTINATION. THE PILOT PICKED AN AIRPORT WITH NON-STANDARD, LOW INTENSITY RUNWAY LIGHTS, AND NO ROTATING BEACON FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. WHEN THEY FINALLY ACQUIRED THE FIELD VISUALLY, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE TO REACH IT. THE AIRPLANE LANDED IN AN OPEN FIELD WITH SOFT TERRAIN AND FLIPPED OVER. POST ACCIDENT INTERVIEWS DISCLOSED THE STUDENT PILOT HAD PERFORMED THE PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION. IN ADDITION, HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE USE OF A DEVICE TO MEASURE THE QUANTITY OF FUEL IN THE TANKS. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1998 AT APPROX. 2040 LOCAL TIME, A CESSNA 152 N307DW, OWNED BY DANIEL WEBSTER COLLEGE, CRASHED IN A MARSHY GRASSY FIELD IN ELLINGTON, CT, WHILE ON A FLIGHT FROM NASHUA, N.H. (ASH) TO WINDSOR LOCKS, CT. (BDL). VISIBLE FLIGHT RULE CONDIITONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED WITH BANGOR FLIGHT SERVICE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT WERE UNINJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT NASHUA, N.H. (ASH), ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1998 AT APPROX. 1950 HRS. LOCAL TIME. ## 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 NYC98LA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA188), Sep 17, 1998: Cessna 152 (N307DW), Ellington, CT, substantial damage. Probable cause: Was the flight instructors lack of supervision over the student pilot's preflight inspection of the airplane, and which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Factors were the night conditions and the soft… 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.