# NTSB NYC08CA068: Cessna 170B, N3070A, Alton, NH, December 22, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: December 22, 2007, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Alton, NH - Coordinates: 43.386665, -71.233329 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.3867&lon=-71.2333&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 28, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 67290 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC08CA068 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67290/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08CA068 ## 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 In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, maneuvering - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - water,frozen - light condition - other (contributing factor) - low altitude flight/maneuver - attempted, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## 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](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3070A), registered now, S/N 25714, built 1953 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170B - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (registry code 17012, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 25714 - Airframe hours: 2973 - Engines: 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 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20071222832119A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20071222832119A), Dec 22, 2007: Cessna 170B, Alton, NH, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot departed sanford, Maine with three passengers heading for locke lake airport at barnstead, new hampshire (grass strip). The pilot was executing… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.