Cessna 172P accident near Langley Afb, Virginia, March 1, 1998
On March 1, 1998 at about 2:36 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N62082, was destroyed in an accident near Langley Afb, Virginia (Langley Air Force Base 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 inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions, and the subsequent loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. A factor in the accident was the low ceiling.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 1, 1998 · about 2:36 pm local time
- Place
- Langley Afb, Virginia · Langley Air Force Base · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N62082 · no longer on the register · serial 17275207
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The two pilots filed a local VFR flight plan and departed the 10,000 feet long runway to the east. According to United States Air Force weather observers, a cloud layer at 300 feet with fog was approaching the airport from the northeast at the same time the airplane departed. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane transmitted to the tower, '...we're going to come back for landing...uh...the ceiling is lower than we thought.' The tower controller acknowledged the call and instructed the airplane to report when it reached the base leg of the traffic pattern. The tower controller observed the airplane enter a climbing left turn and disappear into the approaching cloud layer. He said, 'It was nice and clear in all quadrants with a little overcast/light fog to the east.' Witnesses in proximity to the crash site reported they heard the airplane but could not be see it until it descended vertically out of the low cloud cover. The airplane collided with terrain and a building in the vicinity of the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. Examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact anomalies. The pilot in the left seat did not posses an instrument rating.
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: 146 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 50 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,537 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 25, 1998; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Langley Aero Club
The flight
- Departed from: LFI at 2:33 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 8, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:40 pm from LFI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.