Cessna 337B accident near Montgomery, NY
On May 17, 1998, a Cessna 337B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Montgomery, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 17, 1998
- Place
- Montgomery, NY
- Aircraft
- Cessna 337B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.520°N, 74.231°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10178
NTSB summary
On May 17, 1998, about 1521 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 337B, N5471S, was substantially damaged when it struck trees after departing from the Orange County Airport, Montgomery, New York. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, which was destined for Oxford, Connecticut. No flight plan had been filed for the flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the Operations Duty Officer at the airport, a man approach him about 1500 and asked for a jump start. The duty officer explained he not have the equipment to do that. The pilot entered his airplane, started the forward engine and again tried to start the rear engine. The prop would hardly move. The pilot then taxied to runway 21, with the front engine running. He then announced over the UNICOM frequency that he was going to try a takeoff with one engine. The pilot used the full length of the runway, and barely cleared the trees at the end of the runway, after which visual contact was lost with the airplane. Several witnesses saw the airplane as it passed through trees, over a house, and flew into more trees. The airplane came to rest upside down. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported: "...I inspected the area and found the front engine prop had broken at the crankshaft...The rear engine prop in the 3 & 9 O'clock position with no damage. The prop was not feathered...All throttles, prop and mixture levers were full forward. The landing gear was down, and the landing gear lever was down. I notice
Probable cause
the pilot's improper decision to initiate a takeoff with the rear engine inoperative, which resulted in an airplane that could not climb sufficiently to clear obstacles (trees).
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Browse: New York · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
