- Date
- March 25, 1989, 22:15 local (Mar 26, 1989, 03:15 UTC)
- Place
- Pittsfield, MA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N20NQAerospatiale TB-10
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 3, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890325004459A
- Case key
- 36278
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain proper altitude. Factors related to the accident were: inadequate briefing provided by the flight service station (fss) specialist, dark night, low clouds, and terrain 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
Drg VFR flt at ngt, plt tried ctcg albany apch ctl (alb), 40 mi fm destn. Ctlr answered call & rprtd he was not rcvg transponder (xpdr), but plt did not hear him as his acft was too FAR away. Plt was adzd, via an airliner, to call again after proceeding further inbnd. Abt 13 min later, plt established ctc with alb, aprx 27 mi se in vcnty of Pittsfield at 2500' MSL. He asked, 'my alt of 2500, is that ok?' Ctlr thought plt was referring to quality of xpdr read-out of 2500' & replied 'affirmative.' Ctlr then asked if plt was VFR; plt said he was. Soon thereafter, ctc with acft was lost. It dscnded into rising trrn at elev of abt 1800'. No preimpact mech prblm was fnd. Drg preflt wx briefing, fss psnl did notadz plt of flt prctn of obscd mtns. Mva in area was 4000' MSL. Another plt operg fm Pittsfield rprtd bases of ovc were ragged at 2500' to 3000' MSL & higher trrn was obscd by clouds. Rcc not notified; search delayed; ctlr's supvr notified ARTCC per proc for IFR acft. ARTCC did not notify rcc, since acft was VFR; however, crash was not survivable.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20NQ
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale TB-10
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 695
- Airframe hours
- 105
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1AD, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aircraft Equipment Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 23, 1989 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- CEF · Westover Afb, MA
- Destination
- ALB · Albany, NY
- Airport
- ALB · Albany
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
- 24
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 92 total · 4 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALB, 27 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.