Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Chester Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chester, Connecticut 06412
Thursday, January 31, 2002 18:50 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot flew a GPS Rwy 35, circle-to-land runway 17 approach during night instrument meteorological conditions. A witness reported that the airplane's downwind leg was two to three times closer to the runway than normal. The airplane's turn radius to final approach was also much smaller than normal, and the turn was relatively "flat". The airplane appeared to be traveling at a relatively slow airspeed during the approach, and engine rpm did not increase during the turn. As the airplane turned toward the final approach course, the witness saw it "instantaneously" change from being relatively wings-level, to being wings-vertical, with the left wing pointing straight down and the right wing pointing straight up. He then lost sight of it, and almost immediately heard a "crunch". Examination of the wreckage revealed that the airplane had impacted the ground almost vertically, and upon impact, was facing approximately the opposite direction of the landing runway. Weather at the time included winds from 080 degrees true at 6 knots, visibility 2 1/2 statute miles in mist, an overcast ceiling at 300 feet above ground level, and a temperature and dewpoint of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions were found.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn to final, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Factors included low ceilings and night lighting conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/31/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1850 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Chester |
| Event State | CONNECTICUT |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 06412 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 412328N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0723032W |
| Event Location Airport | Chester Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3B9 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 350 |
| Airport Elevation | 416 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1850 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 3B9 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 416 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 2.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 0 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 80 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.27 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 12438 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NERCC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 31 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1930 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 23 2002 10:24AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Windsor Locks |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N32BR |
| NTSB Number | NYC02FA055 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | V35B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | D-10392 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 12 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 95 |
| Airframe Hours | 1155 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John F. Howard |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Cromwell |
| Aircraft Owner State | CT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 06416 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | ROA |
| Departure City | Roanoke |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 3B9 |
| Destination City | Chester |
| Destination State | CT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - circling (IFR) |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 27 2002 11:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 |
| Runway Length | 2566 |
| Runway Width | 50 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |