Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Mansfield Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mansfield, Massachusetts 02048
Sunday, December 28, 1997 8:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was observed to takeoff from runway 32 and climb to about 300 feet above the ground. It was then observed to turn to the left, in a nose down attitude, and disappear behind trees after which it collided with a pole and terrain coming to rest upright in a cleared area. Examination of the wreckage revealed an approximate half-inch coating of ice covering the top of the wings. Both horizontal stabilizers exhibited thin patchy areas of ice along their entire surfaces. Thin patches of ice were also found on the fuselage center section, and the leading edge of the right wing strut. Post-crash examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction. Precipitation at the airport between 1445 and 2045 on the day before the accident, was reported as mist, light rain, light rain and snow showers, and ending with light snow. The night before, and the day of the accident, the temperatures were below freezing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to remove snow and ice from the aircraft prior to takeoff resulting in degraded climb performance and a subsequent stall/mush condition.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/28/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 830 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | MANSFIELD |
| Event State | MASSACHUSETTS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 02048 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | MANSFIELD MUNI AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1B9 |
| 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 | 122 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 845 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OWD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 50 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 11 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 15000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1876 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 28 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 910 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9604H |
| NTSB Number | NYC98LA055 |
| 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 | 17266258 |
| 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 | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KEVIN VANCE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 162 FIELD ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | LONGMEADOW |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 01106 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 1B9 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BDR |
| Destination City | BRIDGEPORT |
| Destination State | CT |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| 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 | 32 |
| Runway Length | 3498 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |