Cessna 175 N7223M

Summary

On 10 November 2022 at about 21:15 local time, a Cessna 175 registered N7223M was involved in an accident near Gilford, New Hampshire, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 November 2022 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Gilford, New Hampshire, United States

Nearest airport

Laconia Muni (LCI)

Coordinates

43.5778, -71.4033

Aircraft

Cessna 175

Registration

N7223M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

East Sumner → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA057

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s decision to continue the approach to land in conditions where he was unable to see in front of the airplane due to sun glare, which resulted in in a collision a building.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the amphibious airplane reported that while on final approach to runway 26 he had trouble viewing the runway due to glare from the setting sun. He recalled making “…continuous efforts to block the sun glare.” He planned to make a gradual descent on the final approach to get the best forward view and peripheral views of the area. While descending, he further described that “the brightness inside the cockpit was difficult to observe instruments. I descended towards what I was convinced was the runway. I remember nothing else from that time forward.” The airplane subsequently struck the roof of a business, and the wreckage came to rest next to the building in the parking lot. The airplane’s fuselage, both wings, empennage, and floats were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Based on this information, the airplane likely struck the building after the pilot allowed the airplane to descend too low on the approach to the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.