# Accident 19991222036631A: Cessna 172P, Fitchburg, MA, December 22, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 22, 1999, 14:50 local time
- Place: Fitchburg, MA
- Airport: Fitchburg Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Collision: Midair collision, first aircraft
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.5455° N, 71.7431° 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=42.5455&lon=-71.7431&mi=10
- Aircraft: N96273, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N96273-2000-06-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: LYC O320*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 190 total, 10 in this make and model, 1 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC00FA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA058) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991222036631A

## Narrative

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

(.4)THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING LANDINGS IN A LEFT TRAFFIC PATTERN TO RUNWAY 32, AND THE STUDENT PILOT WAS INBOUND ON AN INSTRUCTIONAL SOLO FLIGHT. THE STUDENT PILOT CALLED THAT HE WAS 4 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT, AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE PRIVATE PILOT CALLED HIS DOWNWIND LEG. THE PRIVATE PILOT'S AIRPLANE COMPLETED THE DOWNWIND LEG, THEN TURNED ONTO BASE, THEN ONTO FINAL. ON FINAL, THE STUDENT PILOT'S AIRPLANE OVERTOOK IT, AND THEN COLLIDED WITH IT. THE PROPELLER FROM STUDENT PILOT'S AIRPLANE CUT THROUGH THE TOP OF ITS RIGHT WING, AND THE LEFT STRUT FROM THE STUDENT PILOT'S AIRPLANE IMPACTED ITS RIGHT FUSELAGE. THE TWO AIRPLANES LOCKED TOGETHER, THEN MADE A SLOW, APPROXIMATELY 160-DEGREE TURN WHILE DESCENDING RAPIDLY TO THE GROUND, ABOUT 2,000 FEET FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY. THE AIRPORT DID NOT HAVE AN OPERATING CONTROL TOWER, AND TURNS IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN WERE TO THE LEFT. AT THE TIME OF THE COLLISION, THE SUN WAS ABOUT 90 DEGREES TO THE LEFT OF THE AIRPLANES, ABOUT 12 DEGREES ABOVE THE HORIZON. (-23)MR. SHULYAK WAS ON FINAL APPROACH TO FITCHBURG AIRPORT.  APPROXIMATELY 2000 FEET PRIOR TO RUNWAY THRESHOLD HIS AIRCRAFT WAS STRUCK BY C-172, N672          DW. N672DW WAS ALOS ON FINAL APPROACH BEHIND AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE AND TO THE RIGHT OF N96273.  N672DW OVERTOOK N96273.

## Other aircraft in the event

- N672DW, Cessna 172R: [Accident 19991222036632A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991222036632A)

## 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 NYC00FA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC00FA058), Dec 22, 1999: Cessna 172P (N96273), Leominster, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The student pilot's failure to see and avoid the private pilot's airplane. Factors included the student pilot's non-standard traffic pattern entry, the private pilot's failure to check for other…

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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