Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Danbury Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
Monday, May 6, 1996 11:07 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
At 0857 edt, the pilot of Cessna P210N, N450T, contacted the FAA Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) at Millville, NJ. He stated his intention to file an IFR flight plan from Morristown, NJ to Bedford, MA, at 5000 feet and requested a standard weather briefing. The briefer provided info from AIRMET Zule, Update 1, that the freezing level was at 10,000 feet, but said '...the freezing level up around Boston is at 5,000 feet, so anything 5 and above you might pick up icing there.' The pilot filed for 7,000 feet. At 0945 edt, after the pilot had received his weather briefing, AIRMET Zulu, Update 2 was issued, which called for light occasional moderate rime and mixed icing in the clouds and precipitation. Also, it cautioned that the freezing level would be from the surface to 4,000 feet, north of the pilot's destination, sloping to 8,000 feet at his departure point. At 1035, the pilot took off. About 30 minutes later, the airplane's single turbine engine experienced a completed loss of power. The airplane then descended in IMC and collided with trees during a forced landing. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failure of the engine, airframe, fuel system, or propeller. Investigation revealed N450T was not certifcated for flight in known icing conditions, and that the pilot did not use all anti-ice and deicing equipment as specified by the operator's manual. The pilot of another airplane departed an airport near the accident site. He reported icing at 7,000 feet, but no icing after a descent to 5,000 feet.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
improper planning/decision by the pilot, which led to flight into icing conditions; and his failure to use all anti-ice and deicing equipment, as specified by the airplane operator's manual for inadvertent flight into icing conditions. This resulted in loss of engine power due to ice, a forced landing, and subsequent collision with trees during the forced landing. Factors relating to the accident were: the adverse weather (icing) condition, failure of a FAA Flight Service Station briefer to provide adequate icing advisories to the pilot, and low ceiling and trees in the emergency landing area.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/6/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1107 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | RIDGEFIELD |
| Event State | CONNECTICUT |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 06877 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | DANBURY MUNICIPAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | DXR |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 458 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1106 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 330 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DXR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 458 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 6 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 5 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1553 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 6 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1150 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:01AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N450T |
| NTSB Number | NYC96FA101 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | P210N |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | P210N |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 00453 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 20 1995 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 100 |
| Airframe Hours | 2589 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RICHARD F. BLANCHARD |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 30 CANFIELD ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | CONVENT STATION |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 07961 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MMU |
| Departure City | MORRISTOWN |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1035 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BED |
| Destination City | BEDFORD |
| Destination State | MA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |