# Accident 19981012028939A: Cessna STC172, Wardboro, VT, October 12, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 12, 1998, 15:30 local time
- Place: Wardboro, VT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Aircraft: N1330F, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1330F-2000-03-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172G (registry code 2072420, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA STC172
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 242 total, 4 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC99FA007](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA007) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981012028939A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. (.4)THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED ON A 'LEAF WATCHING' FLIGHT.  AFTERWARDS, NO ONE SAW THE AIRPLANE OR TALKED WITH THE PILOT.  THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND APPROXIMATELY 800 FEET BELOW THE TOP OF A 3,800 FOOT MOUNTAIN.  THE PILOT HELD A COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE, NO INSTRUMENT RATING, AND HAD ACCUMULATED 36.3 HOURS IN THE PREVIOUS 18 MONTHS.  PRIOR TO THAT, HE HAD NOT FLOWN FOR 35 YEARS.  A FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR DESCRIBED THE PILOT'S ABILITIES AS MARGINAL.  WEATHER AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS APPROXIMATELY 1,200 FOOT OVERCAST AND 2 MILES OF VISIBILITY.  A WITNESS REPORTED THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS OBSCURED BY CLOUDS.  THE AIRPLANE ENTERED THE TREES WINGS LEVEL, CREATING A 3 DEGREE DESCENT PATH.                                                              (-23) A/C DEPARTED KEENE, NH (EEN) @ APPROX 1330 LCL FOR A PLEASURE FLIGHT.  REPORTED DESTINATION WAS GLENN FALLS, NY (GFL).  A/C REPORTED OVERDUE @ APPROX 1900.  FIRST ELT PICKUP WAS @ 1739 LCL.  A/C FOUND THE NEXT DAY @ 0900.  A/C HIT MOUNTAIN @ APPROX 3100' IN A LEVEL ALTITUDE.  MOUNTAIN PEAK WAS APPROX 3300'.  WEATHER @ EEN WAS OV. 2900 & GFL OV 2500.

## 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 NYC99FA007](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA007), Oct 12, 1998: Cessna 172G (N1330F), Bennington, VT, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's VFR flight into IMC. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of recent experience, mountainous/hilly terrain, and clouds.

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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