Cessna P337H accident near Cape Elizabeth, ME
On June 15, 2008, a Cessna P337H (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cape Elizabeth, ME. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 15, 2008
- Place
- Cape Elizabeth, ME
- Aircraft
- Cessna P337H · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 43.555°N, 69.820°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080628X00942
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 15, 2008, about 1310 eastern daylight time, a Cessna P337H, N15EM, was presumed destroyed when it descended from cruise flight, and impacted the Atlantic Ocean, about 18 miles east of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The certificated private pilot and a passenger were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that departed the Millinocket Municipal Airport (MLT), Millinocket, Maine, destined for the Essex County Airport (CDW), Caldwell, New Jersey. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The pilot owned the airplane, which was based at CDW. According the MLT airport supervisor, the pilot and his wife arrived on June 12, 2008. The airplane was refueled with 64 gallons of 100-low-lead aviation gasoline and placed inside a hanger until the morning of the accident. According to information obtained from Lockheed Martin, at 0916 on the day of the accident, the pilot contacted the Kankakee automated flight service station. The pilot was informed that flight under visual flight rules (VFR) was "not recommended," and after obtaining a weather briefing, he filed an IFR flight plan from MLT to CDW, with a proposed departure time of 1100. According to information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane departed MLT under VFR and contacted the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center at 1228. The pilot informed the controller that he had previously filed an IFR flight plan to CDW, "...but we gotta go vfr, i'
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to continue the flight in instrument meteorological conditions after experiencing an attitude indicator malfunction.
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Browse: Maine · 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.
