# Accident 19981120031939A: Cessna 414A, New Bedford, MA, November 20, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 20, 1998, 12:20 local time - Place: New Bedford, MA - Airport: New Bedford Municipal - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Final Approach-IFR - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.6133° N, 70.8055° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about 3 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6133&lon=-70.8055&mi=10 - Aircraft: N6820J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6820J-2000-09-20) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 414A (registry code 2075907, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-414a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 414A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 3,458 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC99FA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA026) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981120031939A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. WHEN THE PILOT REPORTED EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS.LOST ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. (.23)ON 11-20-98, AT APPROXIMATELY 1220, N6820J, CE-414-A, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE OFF THE COAST OF MATTAPOISETT, MA. THE FLIGHT WAS IFR AND BEING VECTORED BY PROVIDENCE TRACON FOR APPROACH INTO NEW BEDFORD AIRPORT AFTER DEPARTING HYANNIS, MA. AT 1214:59 EST THE PILOT ADVISED PROVIDENCE TRACON THAT HE JUST LOST HIS ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. AT 1215:18 THE PILOT CONFIRMED HE WAS SITLL IN IFR CONDITIONS. AT 1219:19 PROVIDENCE TRACON NOTIFIED THE PILOT OF LOW ALTITUDE ALERT, AND INSTRUCTED HIM TO CHECK ALTITUDE IMMEDIATELY, SHOW 1200. AT 1219:23 THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED PVD, BUT THE TRANSMISSION WAS CUT SHORT. AT 1219:57 RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. A SEARCH WAS BEGUN AT 1230 EST, WITH THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF A CONFIRMED ACCIDENT OCCURRING AT APPROX. 1410 EST. ON 11-20-98 THE BODY OF MR. PHILIP EDWARD PELLETIER AND DEBRIS FROM N6802J WAS LOCATED OFF ANGELICA POINT. WEATHER CONDITIONS PROHIBITED ANY FURTHER RECOVERY OF THE WRECKAGE UNTIL 11-22-98. THE RECOVERED WRECKAGE WAS RELOCATED TO COLONIAL AIR, NEW BEDFORD, MA. EXAMINATION OF THE RECOVERED WRECKAGE WAS CONDUCTE D AT COLONIAL AIR BY THE NTSB, MASSACHUSETTS AERONAUTICS COMMISSON, MYSELF, AND CESSNA AND TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL REPRESENTATIVES. LARGE PORTIONS OF THE WRECKAGE ARE STILL MISSING TO INCLUDE ALL INSTRUMENTS AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. ANY ADDITIONAL PERTINENT WRECKAGE WILL BE EXAMINED UPON RECOVERY. THE PILOT LOGBOOK AND MAINTENANCE RECORDS WERE ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH, OF WHICH VERY LITTLE HAS BEEN RECOVERED. THE LAST ANNUAL WAS COMPLETED BY NOR EAST AVIATION AT NEW BEDFORD. THE WORK ORDER PACKAGE WAS COPIED AND REVIEWED, NO RECENT PROBLEMS WITH INSTRUMENTS WAS NOTED. FUEL SLIPS AT NOR EAST AVIATION WERE ALSO COPIED INDICATING N6802J TOOK ON 50 GALLONS, 25 EACH SIDE, ON 11-19-98 AND 11-20-98, THE FUEL WAS CHECKED FOR CONTAMINATION BY EXXON THE SUPPLIER, NON WAS NOTED. ADDITIONAL WORK ORDER PACKAGES WERE COPIED AT GRIFFIN AVIONICS WHERE MR. PELLETIER HAD HIS AVIONICS WORK DONE, BUT NO RECENT INSTRUMENT PROBLEMS WERE NOTED. A FORMAL ATC PACKAGE HAS BEEN REQUESTED AND BLUE RIBBON PACKAGES HAVE BEEN ORDERED FOR MR. PHILIP PELLETIER AND N6820J. ## 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 NYC99FA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA026), Nov 20, 1998: Cessna 414A (N6820J), Mattapoisett, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane after an undetermined failure of the airplane's attitude indicator. A factor in this accident was fog. ## Other reports on N6820J (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19890706046929I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19890706046929I), Jul 6, 1989: Cessna 414A (N6820J), Manchester, NH. Two way radio failure inflight. Contacted ATC with modular phone onboard aircraft. Landed without futher incident. 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.