- Date
- April 29, 1990, 19:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Fredericksburg, PA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N74312Grumman AA-5B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 17, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900429011969A
- Case key
- 36530
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
Continued VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure (or inability) to maintain control of the aircraft after becoming spatially disoriented. Factors related to the accident were: adverse weather conditions, and the pilot's lack of instrument experience.
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
A non-instrument rated private pilot departed on a solo cross-country flight without filing a flight plan or obtaining an FAA weather briefing. During flight, he encountered deteriorating weather conditions. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed on sparcely wooded terrain. Impact occurred near the top of a ridge at an elevation of about 1800 ft on a heading of about 150 deg. The aircraft was destroyed during impact; wreckage was confined to a small area. A witness of the weather in the area estimated the sky condition was about 300 ft overcast. Weather at the accident site was not verified.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74312
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-5B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3960104
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4K, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Joseph W. Davis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PS97 · Sigel, PA
- Destination
- N47 · Pottstown,, PA
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 300 total · 50 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.