- Date
- December 15, 1989, 17:38 local (22:38 UTC)
- Place
- Cairo Township, NY
- Injuries
- 6 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N45CHPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891215057299A
- Case key
- 36518
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 decision to fly into the known adverse weather and his failure to select an altitude that would provide terrain clearance. Factors were: the adverse weather and the pilot's disregard for the forecasted 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
During a pre-flight weather briefing, the instrument rated pilot was told by the afss specialist that marginal VFR and IFR condiitons would prevail along the route of flight. The pilot did not file a flight plan. The airplane was last depicted on radar at 2500 feet MSL and heading towards high terrain. A NY state trooper leaving his office about the time the accident occurred stated snow was falling very hard and visibility was low. The state trooper's office was about 5 miles from the crash site. The airplane hit a 3400 foot mountain at an elevation of 2500 feet. The airplane was missing 4 days and was found by the crew of a NY state police helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N45CH
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7852002
- Airframe hours
- 2,500
- Engine
- Lycoming TSIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Aero-Venture Inc.
- Departed
- GFL · Glens Falls, NY
- Destination
- MGJ · Montgomery, NY
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
- 27
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Observed at
- ALB, 40 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.