# Accident 19990211001259A: Cessna 170A, Fitchburg, MA, February 11, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 11, 1999, 14:16 local time
- Place: Fitchburg, MA
- Airport: Fitchburg Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.5538° N, 71.7592° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FITCHBURG MUNI (FIT), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.5538&lon=-71.7592&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1460D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1460D-1999-05-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 170A (registry code 2072304, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 170A
- Reported engine: CONT C1452
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,660 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC99FA060](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA060) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990211001259A

## Narrative

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

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.

## 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 NYC99FA060](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FA060), Feb 11, 1999: Cessna 170A (N1460D), Leominster, MA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain the proper altitude during the approach.

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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