Cessna 172 N21363

Summary

On 11 August 2010 at about 01:11 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N21363, operated by Jack A Johnson, was involved in an accident near Orange, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 August 2010 at 01:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Orange, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Orange Municipal Airport (ORE)

Coordinates

42.5953, -72.2981

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N21363

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jack A Johnson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orange → Bar Harbor

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ERA10FA414

2 people died.

The pilots did not maintain control of the airplane during a flight in dark night conditions due to spatial disorientation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After servicing the airplane with fuel, the pilots departed for the second leg of a cross-country flight. According to radar data and data from an on-board handheld GPS receiver, during the initial climb, the airplane turned right to proceed on course to its destination but shortly thereafter entered a descending left turn that exhibited significant descent and heading change rates and varying groundspeeds. The airplane subsequently impacted trees about 560 feet from the airplane's final recorded position, leaving a debris path roughly consistent in direction and velocity with the airplane's last known track. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures. Although avian remains were recovered from the runway the airplane departed from, no evidence of a bird strike could be found anywhere on the airframe. The flight took place in the dark night, with no visible lunar illumination and no reports of any obscuring meteorological phenomena in the area, although rising wooded terrain with relatively little ground lighting was present ahead of the airplane before it entered the descending left turn. Both pilots held pilot certificates and ratings that would have allowed either of them to act as pilot-in-command of the flight, and both were found seated in front of a fully functional set of flight controls. It could not be determined which pilot was manipulating the flight controls for any portion of the accident flight. The left-seat pilot had not logged any flight experience at night within the 8 months preceding the accident and the right-seat pilot's recent flight experience could not be determined from the records provided. Neither pilot held an instrument rating. The dark night light conditions and multiple heading and altitude changes that occurred during a climbing turn are consistent with the pilots’ loss of situational awareness due to spatial disorientation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.