Cessna 172P N62082

Summary

On 1 March 1998 at about 14:36 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N62082, operated by Langley Aero Club, was involved in an accident near Langley Afb, Virginia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 March 1998 at 14:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Langley Afb, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Langley Air Force Base (LFI)

Coordinates

37.0810, -76.3705

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N62082

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Langley Aero Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD98FA032

2 people died.

The pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions, and the subsequent loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. A factor in the accident was the low ceiling.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The two pilots filed a local VFR flight plan and departed the 10,000 feet long runway to the east. According to United States Air Force weather observers, a cloud layer at 300 feet with fog was approaching the airport from the northeast at the same time the airplane departed. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane transmitted to the tower, '...we're going to come back for landing...uh...the ceiling is lower than we thought.' The tower controller acknowledged the call and instructed the airplane to report when it reached the base leg of the traffic pattern. The tower controller observed the airplane enter a climbing left turn and disappear into the approaching cloud layer. He said, 'It was nice and clear in all quadrants with a little overcast/light fog to the east.' Witnesses in proximity to the crash site reported they heard the airplane but could not be see it until it descended vertically out of the low cloud cover. The airplane collided with terrain and a building in the vicinity of the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. Examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact anomalies. The pilot in the left seat did not posses an instrument rating.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.