Minute Man Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Stow, Massachusetts 01775
Monday, September 16, 1996 18:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was practicing a short field landing on a 1600 foot long turf runway. He reported that his first approach was high, and he made a go-around. He described the second approach as a little fast and long. He was unable to stop by the end of the runway, and the airplane went off the departure end and into a pond. During the occurrence, the nose landing gear was bent rearward, and the firewall was wrinkled. The pilot also reported that he was not aware that the grass was wet or that he had a tailwind of 2 to 3 mph during touchdown.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance during the landing, and his failure to go around while there was sufficient runway remaining, which resulted in a runway overrun and an encounter with a soft terrain at the edge of a pond. Wet grass on the runway was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/16/1996
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City STOW
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 01775
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MINUTE MAN
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6B6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 268
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1246
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 19 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1440
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:22AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N737MD
NTSB Number NYC96LA185
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182
Aircraft Series Identifier 182
Aircraft Serial Number 18261672
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
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 Dec 28 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 169
Airframe Hours 3338
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FRANCIS HARRINGTON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 786 HEMENWAY STREET
Aircraft Owner City MARLBOROUGH
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01752
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 ORH
Departure City WORCESTER
Departure State MA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1745
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight 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 30
Runway Length 1600
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --