Private Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Halfmoon, New York 12188
Saturday, September 2, 2000 18:19 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he did not obtain a weather briefing prior to departure. During the flight to his home airstrip, he encountered thunderstorms, but elected to continue to his destination. The pilot tried to land on the 2,100-foot strip, but wind gusts prevented touchdown. The pilot aborted the landing, and attempted to fly under wires in his flight path but struck a tree. The pilot said there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. He said, "I can't blame the airplane. It was me."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, and his continued flight into, and attempted landing during a thunderstorm. A factor was the thunderstorm.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/2/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1819
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City HALFMOON
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12188
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Private Strip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1827 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID ALB
Elevation of weather observation facility 285
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2600
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 100
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) 0.5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 26
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1720
Intensity of Precipitation Heavy
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
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 --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11300
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region OPS CTR
NTSB Notification Date Sep 3 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1012
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2002 2:29PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8019X
NTSB Number IAD00LA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172B
Aircraft Series Identifier 172B
Aircraft Serial Number 17248519
Certified Max Gross Weight 2200
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 Sep 12 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 68
Airframe Hours 2734
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN E. MILCZAREK
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City ROUND LAKE
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 12151
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 1F2
Departure City EDINBURG
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone N
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City HALFMOON
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2001 12:22AM
User who most recently changed record COXP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2100
Runway Width 40
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --