- Date
- September 17, 1988, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Adams, MA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6586JCessna 172N
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19880917047369A
- Case key
- 36015
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
Pilot's inadequate preflight planning and improper inflight decisions, he continued VFR into IFR conditions. The air route traffic control center service was improper.
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
Drg VFR flt, N6586J enctrd wx, bgn circling hay fld for emerg lndg & made distress call on emerg freq 121.5 mhz. N6586J was too low to ctc ATC facilities, but monarch flt 58 (Boeing 757) heard the plt call & offered to help. Albany apch ctlresponded on same freq (121.5) & flt 58 relayed info to & fm N6586J. Albany ctlr provided info of 3700' mtn peak in vcnty, but plt of flt 58 didn't relay trrn elev to N6586J, nor did the ctlr note the error. Boston ARTCC estab radar ctcwith N6586J & bgn relaying vectors, but ctlr thought plt was providing his own trrn sepn, because he was VFR. Thus, the ctlr issued vector below min vectoring alt (mva), which was 4000' or abv. Plt enctrd IMC & rprtd dscndg to 2500' to "tryto get out of the clouds." Subsequently, acft crashed on mt fitch. ATC handbook allowed vectoring of VFR acft below mvawith no warning of trrn. ATC ctlrs did not adhere to emerg procedures in handbook. The involved supvrs took no action tocorrect the situation. Involved ctlrs lacked trng in handling emergencies concerning VFR plts that enctr wx below mva.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6586J
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172-73895
- Airframe hours
- 1,012
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Larry A. Bugbee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 5, 1988 · 957 hours before
- Departed
- WST · Westerly, RI
- Destination
- 5B5 · Bennington, VT
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 68 total · 55 in this make and model · 18 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Temperature
- 138 °F, dew point 127 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 5B5, 15 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.
Other investigations on N6586J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.