Cessna 305 accident near Sterling, Massachusetts, August 25, 2024
On August 25, 2024 at about 6:20 pm local time, a 1951 Cessna 305, registered N5673B, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Sterling, Massachusetts (Sterling airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop and subsequent landing gear collapse. Contributing was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 2024 · about 6:20 pm local time
- Place
- Sterling, Massachusetts · Sterling · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 305 A, built 1951 · all 305s on the register
- Registration
- N5673B · registry record · serial 51-7416
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was receiving instruction from a flight instructor in the tailwheel-equipped airplane to become a glider tow pilot. The pilot landed the airplane on the grass next to the paved runway, an area that included a paved taxiway that crossed over it. Upon reaching the taxiway the airplane bounced and swerved to the right. The pilot corrected with rudder application and braking, but the airplane continued its right turn and ground looped. During the ground loop the left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing impacted the ground, substantially damaging it. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor also reported that he could have been faster in taking control of the airplane after it initially began to turn, but had relaxed because they were in the roll out phase of the landing, and because the pilot had previously landed the airplane without issue.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Instructor/check pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Sloped/uneven terrain › Response/compensation
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,094 hours in all; 334 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1,754 as pilot in command; 321 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 9, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 350 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 247 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 19, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,427.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 18, 2024; 131.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental Motors O-470-11 (piston); 3,144 hours total
- Operator: Greater Boston Soaring Club INC
The flight
- Departed from: FIT Fitchburg MA at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 4:52 pm from FIT, 8 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KFIT 252052Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM BKN100 26/17 A3019 RMK AO2 RAB06E30 SLP223 P0000 60000 T02610172 58009
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA24LA358.