American General Aircraft AG5B accident near Vergennes, Vermont, February 18, 1993
On February 18, 1993 at about 8:36 pm local time, a American General Aircraft AG5B, registered N1192Z, was destroyed in an accident near Vergennes, Vermont. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE OR CLEARANCE FROM SNOW COVERED TERRAIN AFTER BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. THE ADVERSE WEATHER AND SNOW COVERED TERRAIN WERE RELATED FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 18, 1993 · about 8:36 pm local time
- Place
- Vergennes, Vermont
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- American General Aircraft AG5B
- Registration
- N1192Z · no longer on the register · serial 10040
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON A FLIGHT FROM GLENN FALLS TO LAKE PLACID, NY, THE NON INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT ENCOUNTERED DETERIORATING WEATHER. ATC DATA SHOWED THIS OCCURRED OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AT ABOUT 1517 EST NEAR BURLINGTON, VT. THE PILOT ELECTED TO RETURN TO GLENN FALLS. AT ABOUT 1521, HE TOLD THE CONTROLLER HE HAD LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN VIEW. THE LAKE WAS MOSTLY FROZEN OVER WITH APRX 3 FT OF SNOW ON THE SURFACE. ABOUT 5 MIN LATER, RADAR SERVICE WAS TERMINATED, AND THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED. NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS BY THE PILOT WERE RECEIVED. WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ON THE FROZEN SURFACE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN NEAR THE VERMONT SHORE. AN EXAM REVEALED THE AIRPLANE HAD IMPACTED THE ICE IN A RIGHT WING LOW ATTITUDE. IT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED, BUT NO PREIMPACT ANOMALIES OF THE AIRFRAME OR ENGINE WERE FOUND. A WITNESS ON THE NEW YORK LAKE SHORE SAW AN AIRPLANE AT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, IN A STEEP LEFT TURN AT ABOUT 250 FT AGL. HE STATED HE LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE DUE TO THE BAD WEATHER. HE ALSO STATED THAT AT THE TIME HE SAW THE AIRPLANE, A SEVERE BLIZZARD WAS MOVING ACROSS THE AREA AND IT LASTED ABOUT 15 MIN.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 155 hours in all; 142 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 11, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GFL Glens Falls NY
- Destination: LKP Lake Placid NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 14°F (-10°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from BTV, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.