Bird strike Accident Cessna 172M Skyhawk N21363,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 76226
 
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Date:Tuesday 10 August 2010
Time:21:11
Type:Silhouette image of generic C172 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 172M Skyhawk
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N21363
MSN: 17263936
Year of manufacture:1974
Total airframe hrs:3237 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-320-E2D
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Near the east end of Winter street, Orange, Massachusetts -   United States of America
Phase: Initial climb
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Orange Municipal Airport, Orange, MA (KORE)
Destination airport:Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, Bar Harbor, ME (KBHB)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
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.
Probable Cause: The pilots did not maintain control of the airplane during a flight in dark night conditions due to spatial disorientation.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA10FA414
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 6 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/09/26/plane-crash-orange-massachusetts-airport/
http://www.telegram.com/article/20100811/APN/308119973
http://web.archive.org/web/20101027145506/http://www.wwlp.com:80/dpp/news/breaking_news/Confirmed-plane-crash-in-Orange
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/24587344/detail.html

http://photos.vox.flightaware.com/photos/retriever/d5ff536523edce404b1a78872bd522e706f62136 (photo)

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
11-Aug-2010 02:26 slowkid Added
11-Aug-2010 06:42 RobertMB Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
21-Dec-2016 19:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
26-Nov-2017 18:08 ASN Update Bot Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
10-Oct-2021 16:45 Captain E Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source]
10-Oct-2021 16:45 harro Updated [Operator]

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