Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Garret County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Accident, Maryland 21520
Thursday, October 31, 2002 11:05 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot had attended initial instrument flight training at a facility in Ohio during the 2 weeks prior to the accident. Unable to complete the training, he elected to return home to Connecticut. While en route, the pilot contacted air traffic control for flight following advisories and information about the cloud conditions ahead of him. The pilot also contacted a flight service station (FSS), for further weather advisories. Upon contact with the FSS, the pilot stated that he was in level flight at 3,300 feet, flying in and out of the clouds, and encountering light icing conditions. The FSS specialist advised the pilot of instrument meteorological conditions along the route of flight, mountain obscuration, and icing conditions. The FSS specialist also recommended that the pilot climb to 6,000 feet, where he could expect VFR. The pilot responded that his flight conditions were "not that bad," and he would remain at 3,300 feet. The weather advisory was terminated, and the pilot re-contacted the air traffic controller, requesting a climb because he had rime ice. The controller replied that an airplane had reported ice at 7,000 feet, and another had reported cloud tops at 7,400 feet. The pilot then stated that he could not maintain VFR, and had "been in it" for 10-15 minutes. He further stated that he was getting some ice build up, but was "ok" with it. The controller then observed the accident airplane's target disappear from the radar screen. No further transmissions were received from the pilot. A witness who lived less than a 1/4 mile from the accident site observed the airplane descend out of the clouds, heading south. The airplane passed overhead, just over the treetops, made a 180-degree turn to the right, and descended into a field. The airplane touched down hard, and came to rest upright in the soft, plowed, field. Witnesses reported that the weather about the time of the accident included a low cloud layer, and mixed precipitation of ice and snow.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilots improper in-flight decision to continue flight into known adverse weather conditions. A factor related to the accident was the icing conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/31/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1105 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Accident |
| Event State | MARYLAND |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 21520 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 393448N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0791626W |
| Event Location Airport | Garret County Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 2G4 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3.75 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 280 |
| Airport Elevation | 2933 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 250 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MGW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1248 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.15 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 15739 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 31 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1210 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2004 12:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FSDO-07 BAltimore, MD |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7099L |
| NTSB Number | NYC03FA015 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| 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 | 182S |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18280547 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3110 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Richard J. Russell |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Woodbridge |
| Aircraft Owner State | CT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 06525 |
| 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 | I69 |
| Departure City | Batavia |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 900 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | MMK |
| Destination City | Meriden |
| Destination State | CT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 7 2004 11:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |