Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wilmot, New Hampshire 03287
Monday, July 5, 2004 15:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot departed under visual flight rules (VFR) and was flying under a cloud layer at an altitude that was approximately 500-800 feet above the trees. When the VFR conditions worsened, he "stayed on instruments," at an altitude of 3,500 feet msl, and shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted terrain, approximately 500 feet from the summit of a 2,937-foot mountain. When asked what caused the accident, the pilot stated, "Controlled flight into terrain." Witnesses reported at the time of the accident, the mountain was obscured by a cloud layer from its summit, down to about 2,000 feet, and the lateral visibility was approximately 200 feet. Examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact mechanical deficiencies. The pilot received his instrument rating 5 years prior to the accident, and had logged a total of 5.4 hours of instrument time during 4 flights since then. The pilot's most recent instrument experience was 3 years prior to the accident, when he logged 0.5 hours of actual instrument time.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC conditions, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance, which resulted in a controlled flight into terrain. Factors in the accident were the low cloud ceiling and the pilot's lack of recent instrument time.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/5/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Wilmot |
| Event State | NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 03287 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 432208N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0715107W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1451 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 120 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CON |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 346 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1400 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18511 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA NEROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 5 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1600 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 27 2005 6:51AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | PWM FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6248V |
| NTSB Number | NYC04FA157 |
| 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 | Lake |
| Aircraft Model | LA-4-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 861 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 25 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 49 |
| Airframe Hours | 1934 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Yes |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NH-Waterbirds LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 98 Meadowcrest Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bedford |
| Aircraft Owner State | NH |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 03110 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Stephen Young |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Londonderry |
| Operator State | NH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 03053 |
| 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 | PBG |
| Departure City | Plattsburgh |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1338 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | CON |
| Destination City | Concord |
| Destination State | NH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 28 2005 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |