American General AG5B N1192Z

Summary

On 18 February 1993 at about 20:36 local time, a American General AG5B registered N1192Z, operated by A. Bashawaty/John Derubeis, was involved in an accident near Vergennes, Vermont, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 February 1993 at 20:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Vergennes, Vermont, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

American General AG5B

Registration

N1192Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

A. Bashawaty/John Derubeis

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glens Falls → Lake Placid

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

BFO93FA030

1 person died.

VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE OR CLEARANCE FROM SNOW COVERED TERRAIN AFTER BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. THE ADVERSE WEATHER AND SNOW COVERED TERRAIN WERE RELATED FACTORS.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

ON A FLIGHT FROM GLENN FALLS TO LAKE PLACID, NY, THE NON INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT ENCOUNTERED DETERIORATING WEATHER. ATC DATA SHOWED THIS OCCURRED OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT ABOUT 1517 EST NEAR BURLINGTON, VT. THE PILOT ELECTED TO RETURN TO GLENN FALLS. AT ABOUT 1521, HE TOLD THE CONTROLLER HE HAD LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN VIEW. THE LAKE WAS MOSTLY FROZEN OVER WITH APRX 3 FT OF SNOW ON THE SURFACE. ABOUT 5 MIN LATER, RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED, AND THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED. NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS BY THE PILOT WERE RECEIVED. WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON THE FROZEN SURFACE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN NEAR THE VERMONT SHORE. AN EXAM REVEALED THE AIRPLANE HAD IMPACTED THE ICE IN A RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE. IT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED, BUT NO PREIMPACT ANOMALIES OF THE AIRFRAME OR ENGINE WERE FOUND. A WITNESS ON THE NEW YORK LAKE SHORE SAW AN AIRPLANE AT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, IN A STEEP LEFT TURN AT ABOUT 250 FT AGL. HE STATED HE LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE DUE TO THE BAD WEATHER. HE ALSO STATED THAT AT THE TIME HE SAW THE AIRPLANE, A SEVERE BLIZZARD WAS MOVING ACROSS THE AREA AND IT LASTED ABOUT 15 MIN.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.