Cessna T-50 accident near Lenox Twp., Pennsylvania, September 3, 2013
On September 3, 2013, a Cessna T-50, registered N41759, was destroyed in an accident during approach near Lenox Twp., Pennsylvania (Huf airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional visual flight into night instrument meteorological conditions and thunderstorms and his improper decision to takeoff without getting updated weather information after a briefer cautioned him during a previous flight that visual flight rules flight was not recommended along his route, which resulted in collision with trees and terrain during a visual approach.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 2013 · cases in 2013
- Place
- Lenox Twp., Pennsylvania · Huf · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T-50 · all T-50s on the register
- Registration
- N41759 · no longer on the register · serial 5807
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed at night on the final leg of a cross-country flight without getting an update on weather information he had been provided by a briefer about 3 1/2 hours before the accident. At that time, the briefer cautioned the pilot about instrument flight conditions with ceilings below 1,000 feet and advised him that visual flight rules flight was not recommended throughout his entire flight route due to a convective SIGMET and severe thunderstorm watches and warnings in effect throughout that area. The pilot acknowledged the information and stated that he would "look at weather radar." One witness, whose home was located 2 miles southeast of the destination airport, observed the airplane flying low in a valley just above the trees and below the surrounding ridgelines. He stated that the sound of the engines was loud and continuous as the airplane flew out of his sight from the west to the east, returned, and then flew westbound just above the tree tops. The airplane then flew off in the direction of an "enormous black cloud with lightning flashing out of it" and eventually out of his view. Examination of the wreckage and the wreckage path revealed evidence of engine power at impact, and no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane or flight control system were found that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- VFR encounter with IMC during approach defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during approach (VFR pattern base)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Dark › Decision related to condition
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Convective weather › Thunderstorm › Decision related to condition
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Weather planning › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 18,300 hours in all; 100 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 834 hours in all
- Last flight review: November 30, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,446 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 8, 2013
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Jacobs L4 /R755-7 (piston); 3,446 hours total
- Engine 2: Jacobs L4 /R755-7 (piston); 3,446 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LHV Lock Haven PA at 11:45 pm
- Destination: PS50 Lenox Twp. PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,185 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,300 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.73 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
13 documents, released by the NTSB on April 21, 2014. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Witness Interview Summaries | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Flight Service Transcript | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 3 | NTSB Weather Synopsis | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 4 | GOES-13 Infrared Satellite Image | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | FAA Maintenance Review Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Wreckage Diagram (Cessna) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 7 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 8 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 9 | Photo 1. View of Main Wreckage Facing Direction of Travel | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 10 | Photo 2. View of Left Engine (Cessna) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 11 | Photo 3. View of Right Engine (Cessna) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 12 | Photo 4. View of Angularly Cut Wood | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 13 | Photo 5. View of Collected Angularly Cut Wood | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N41759: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Cessna T-50 37 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,682 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Jacobs L4 /R755-7 225 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Engine: Jacobs L4 /R755-7 225 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Msm Airport · nearest airport
- William T Piper Memorial · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,195 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ERA13FA402.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.