# Accident 20080201010929A: Cessna 525, West Gardner, ME, February 1, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 1, 2008, 17:46 local time
- Place: West Gardner, ME
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.2375° N, 69.8517° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.2375&lon=-69.8517&mi=10
- Aircraft: N102PT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N102PT-2017-04-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 525 (registry code 2076601, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-525) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Williams FJ-44 series (registry code 66000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/williams-fj-44-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 525
- Reported engine: WILINT FJ441A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 3,400 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA08MA051](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA08MA051) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080201010929A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 02-01-08 AT APPROX 1746 EST A CESSNA CITATION 525, N102PT, CRASHED IN THE WOODS IN WEST GARDNER MAINE. THE PRIVATE PILOT DID NOT HAVE THE AIRCRAFT DEICED AFTER IT HAD SET ON THE RAMP FOR APPROX 90 MINUTES. THE AUGUSTA AIRPORT (AUG) WEATHER HAD CHANGED FROM -SN TO -FZRA BR. AFTER LEAVING THE RAMP AREA THE PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED AND TAXIED THRU THE GRASS INTO & THRU A DITCH TO RUNWAY 26 - NOT THE RUNWAY SHE STATED IN HER RADIO COMMUNICATION ON PWM ATC CLEARANCE FREQUENCY. SHE NEVER TURNED THE AIRPORT LIGHTS ON - THIS WAS DONE BY THE FBO PERSONNEL. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED RUNWAY 17 AT AUG AND WAS RADAR IDENTIFIED. THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED TO 3400 FEET AND ACCELERATED TO 250 KTS. BEFORE THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH PWM ATC. SHE STATED SHE HAD AN "ATTITUDE INDICATOR FAILURE." THE AIRCRAFT NEVER CONTINUED THE RIGHT TURN TO SYR VOR BUT WAS TRACKED IN A LEFT TURN. HER NEXT CALL WAS CUT SHORT FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON AND STATED SHE WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE HER DIRECTION OF TURN. PWM ATC OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDING RAPIDLY THEN RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AT 2400 FEET. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 70 DEGREES NOSE LOW ATTITUDE & 70 DEGREES LEFT WING LOW.

## 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 MIA08MA051](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA08MA051), Feb 1, 2008: Cessna 525 (N102PT), West Gardiner, ME, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control.

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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