- Date
- October 7, 1990, 21:10 local (Oct 8, 1990, 01:10 UTC)
- Place
- Griswold, CT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4708MCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901007044209A
- Case key
- 36770
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
A broken ehaust valve spring that resulted in a partial loss of power. Factors related to the accident were: darkness, lack of suitable terrain, and failure of the occupants to use their shoulder harnesses.
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
The plt & psgr were on a local flt at ngt. Psnl at the arpt noted that the rwy lights had been activated, but no acft was seen to land. The acft was fnd the next morning about 6 mi northeast of the arpt, where it had hit trees & crashed. An investigation revealed it had impacted trees, while in a shallow dscnt. A lack of rotational scarring was noted on the prop; only 1 blade was deformed & only 1 blade contained leading edge nicks. The flaps were fnd in the fully extended (30 deg) position, but the flap indicator showed only 10 degs of flaps. About 8 gal of fuel was found in each wing tank. A check of the eng revealed a lack of compression in the #3 cylinder due to a broken exhaust valve spring. No other pre-acdnt anomalies were fnd. The plt & psgr were not wearing their available shoulder harnesses.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4708M
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284479
- Airframe hours
- 1,683
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Spence, David A.
- Registered owner
- Spence, David A
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 25, 1989 · 114 hours before
- Departed
- 5B4 · Griswold
- Destination
- 5B4
- Airport
- 5B4 · Lake Side, runway 29, 2,520 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 430 total · 430 in this make and model · 395 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Observed at
- GON, 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.