What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) Aircraft departed hamilton, NY (B24), flew toward elmyra, NY, and turned to return to hamilton, NY. Pilot was confused and turned south, to the binghamton VOR to the rockdale VOR, trying to find hamilton, NY. The pilot dialed "030" instead of "330" on the VOR and flew northeast bound, got lost, ran low on gas, reported a rough running engine, declared an emergency with buffalo ffs, and crashed in the wet lands north of salisbury center, NY.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED HAMILTON, NY (B24), FLEW TOWARD ELMYRA, NY, AND TURNED TO RETURN TO HAMILTON, NY. PILOT WAS CONFUSED AND TURNED SOUTH, TO THE BINGHAMTON VOR TO THE ROCKDALE VOR, TRYING TO FIND HAMILTON, NY. THE PILOT DIALED "030" INSTEAD OF "330" ON THE VOR AND FLEW NORTHEAST BOUND, GOT LOST, RAN LOW ON GAS, REPORTED A ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH BUFFALO FFS, AND CRASHED IN THE WET LANDS NORTH OF SALISBURY CENTER, NY.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.