19990211001259A

Acft crashed approximately 3/4 mile off the approach end of rwy 32 into a residential area. The pilot/sole occupant suffered fatal injuries. The acft was destroyed. Other circumstances are unknown. (.4) the airplane was on approach to the runway. A witness observed the airplane below the tree tops. He further stated 'the engine started revving as if [the pilot] had gunned it.... It looked like he was trying to get over [the trees] but at the same time or maybe two seconds later his left wing hit one of the tree's. the plane was pulled to the left bouncing around in the trees, one tree kind of kicked the tail of the plane up sending it into a nose dive straight down....' The airplane struck the tops of about 75 foot tall trees, about 1/2 mile from the runway, and then came to rest in a residential backyard. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions of the airframe or engine. The 80 year old pilot had logged about 1,660 hours of total flight experience, with 28.5 and 11.5 hours of flight experience in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The airplane's tachometer had accumulated 5.4 hours since it's last annual inspection, which was performed about 5 mont hs prior to the accident. (-23) on 2/11/99 at approximately 14:15 hrs, Cessna N1460D, a Cessna 170A impacted trees and terrain while approaching to land on runway 32, Fitchburg, MA. The aircraft ended up at a heading of 040 degrees, demolished, and the pilot fatally injured.