Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Normalville, Pennsylvania 15469
Tuesady, September 23, 1997 20:27 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot departed on a night VFR flight from Steubenville, Ohio to Williamsport, Pennsylvania by way of the Indian Head VOR. The airplane flew past the VOR and then collided with trees and terrain heading back in the direction of the VOR and the departure airport. The airplane collided with an unlighted ridge, about 2,800 feet msl. Both the sun and the moon were below the horizon at the time of the accident. According to a witness, the ridgeline was partially obscured by clouds. Another witness approximately 1/2 mile from the accident site said that he heard the airplane but did not see it. He stated: 'The engine was revved up -- really loud -- I mean max. I kept looking for the plane, but I never saw it.' A weather observation taken at the time of the accident reported cloud layers at 1,000 feet, 2,500 feet and 3,300 feet with mist. Examination of the wreckage and the airplane's engine revealed no pre-impact anomalies. Five different witnesses described the pilot's propensity to sleep at the flight controls.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's inadequate clearance above an unlighted ridgeline in clouds and fog at night, and his decision to not file an IFR flight plan and his VFR flight into IMC conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/23/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 2027 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | NORMALVILLE |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 15469 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Partial - limited by pilot |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2050 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 55 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | JST |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2284 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 32 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 16 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1729 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 24 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1252 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Unknown |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N35405 |
| NTSB Number | NYC97FA186 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 172 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17256751 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 21 1997 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 72 |
| Airframe Hours | 3502 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DAVID CALEHUFF |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 720 AIRPORT ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | MONTOURSVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 17754 |
| 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 | 2G2 |
| Departure City | STUEBENVILLE |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2000 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | IPT |
| Destination City | WILLIAMSPORT |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| 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 | -- |