- Date
- September 26, 1998, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Watertown, CT
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N72929Cessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980926026719A
- Case key
- 44036
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
Was the pilot's misjudged altitude of the airplane prior to performing a stall, and which resulted in the main landing gear contacting a rock wall.
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 pilot was demonstrating a stall to the passenger. During the recovery, the airplane continued to descend with full power applied, and the main landing gear struck a rock wall. The airplane flipped over and came to rest in a corn field. The pilot reported he had not compensated for the additional weight of the passenger when he performed the stall.
Factual narrative
On September 26, 1998, about 1630 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 140, N72929, was destroyed during recovery from a practice stall near Waterbury, Connecticut. The certificated commercial pilot/owner and pilot rated passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated from Waterbury-Oxford Airport, Oxford, Connecticut. No flight plan had been filed for the flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a statement from an Inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):
"[The pilot]...stated 'I goofed'. During the flight that day he had been talking to his passenger..., about emergency landings. He had explained the techniques for keeping the aircraft under control if an emergency landing was required. [The pilot]...flew the aircraft over the farm owned by [the passenger's]...cousin. [The pilot]...showed...[the passenger] how to slow the airplane down and control it through a stall. [The pilot]...stated he was not watching his altitude. After the stall, he pushed the nose of the aircraft down and applied power. He returned the aircraft to a level attitude, but the aircraft continued to sink. He stated that [the passenger]...weighted approximately 200 pounds, and he did not account for the additional weight during the stall. The aircraft lost more altitude than he anticipated, even though the engine was running 'full bore'. [The pilot]...stated that 'if we had 3 feet more, we would have made it'. He did not see the stone wall at the end of the corn field, only the corn stalks. The next thing he knew he was upside down in the aircraft with the seat belt holding him in. He checked his passenger's condition, and proceeded to get out of the aircraft...."
The FAA Inspector reported that the main landing gear contacted a rock wall and the landing gear box was ripped out of the fuselage. The empennage had separated from the fuselage. The engine and firewall were connected to the forward fuselage by control cables, and the wings were bent.
The passenger held a private pilot certificate; however, he was not operating the flight controls or receiving flight instruction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N72929
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 10127
- Airframe hours
- 2,264
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Curtis W. Hewitt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 15, 1997 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- MMK · CT
- Destination
- OXC · Oxford, CT
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
- 81
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BDL, 30 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.