Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Montgomery Twp, Pennsylvania 17236
Tuesady, April 25, 2006 14:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane descended into an area between two converging mountain ridges known locally as "The Punchbowl," and impacted rising terrain in an almost-level attitude. Weather was clear at the time. There were no mechanical anomalies noted with either the airplane or the engine. The pilot had two previous, possible suicide attempts; however, the circumstances surrounding them were not present at the time of the accident. Family members also stated that the pilot was not depressed, and that he was actively involved in a new hobby. The pilot also had emphysema, with hypoxia at rest. The hypoxia would reasonably be expected to worsen at altitude. The pilot may have had problems with the control of impulsive behaviors, which could have been aggravated by a decreased blood-oxygen supply. The pilot had coronary artery disease; however, its extent would not necessarily have caused any symptoms. The possibility of sudden stroke, seizure, heart attack, or other incapacitating event could not be eliminated by the autopsy, and hypoxia could have increased the likelihood of their occurrence. Although undetermined what, if any, role the pilot's medical conditions played in the accident; it was possible that his psychiatric condition and/or his emphysema were factors.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An impact with mountainous terrain for an undetermined reason.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/25/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Montgomery Twp |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 17236 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 394401N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0775813W |
| 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 | 1353 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 100 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HGR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 703 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| 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) | 29.77 |
| 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) | 21952 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 26 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 25 2007 12:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Harrisburg |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7604G |
| NTSB Number | NYC06FA104 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172L |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17259304 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2300 |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 320 |
| Airframe Hours | 5067 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Congressional Flying Club |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Gaithersburg |
| Aircraft Owner State | MD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 20879 |
| 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 | FDK |
| Departure City | Frederick |
| Departure State | MD |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1317 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Unknown |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 19 2007 5:32PM |
| 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 | -- |