- Date
- December 22, 2007, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Alton, NH
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3070ACessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20071222832119A
- Case key
- 67290
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance above a frozen lake while maneuvering. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's attempt of the low altitude maneuver, and unfavorable lighting conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he took three friends on a short cross-country pleasure flight. The airplane was entering a downwind leg at the destination airport, when the pilot decided to make a low pass over an adjacent lake, near a friend's property. The pilot said that his depth perception was negatively affected due to the flat light and snow on the ground. While maneuvering over the lake, the right main landing gear contacted the snowy frozen surface, which resulted in the right wing impacting the surface. The airplane came to rest upright on the frozen lake, and sustained substantial damage to the right wing and firewall. The reported weather at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included calm winds and an overcast ceiling at 2,200 feet.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he took three friends on a short cross-country pleasure flight, in a Cessna 170B. The airplane was entering a downwind leg at the destination airport, when the pilot decided to make a low pass over an adjacent lake, near a friend's property. The pilot further stated that his depth perception was negatively effected due to the flat light and snow on the ground. While maneuvering over the lake, the right main landing gear contacted the snowy frozen surface, which resulted in the right wing impacting the surface. The airplane came to rest upright on the frozen lake, and sustained substantial damage to the right wing, landing gear, and firewall. The reported weather at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included calm winds and an overcast ceiling at 2,200 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3070A
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25714
- Airframe hours
- 2,973
- Engine
- Continental C145-2A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John A. Kiley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2007 · 98 hours before
- Departed
- SFM · Sanford, ME
- Destination
- NH15 · Alton, NH
- Airport
- NH15 · Locke Lake Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,700 total · 1,673 in this make and model · 1,700 as pilot in command · 95 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,200 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 23 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.59 inHg
- Observed at
- LCI, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.