Cessna 172N accident near Ocean City, Maryland, June 22, 1998
On June 22, 1998 at about 1:55 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N5944E, was destroyed in an accident near Ocean City, Maryland (Ocean City Municipal airport). 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
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft due to spatial disorientation. Contributing factors wer fog, dark night conditions, lack of recent experience, inadequate preflight planning, and flight into known adverse weather.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 22, 1998 · about 1:55 am local time
- Place
- Ocean City, Maryland · Ocean City Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N5944E · no longer on the register · serial 17271970
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had planned to make three takeoffs and landing for night currency. The pilot did not contact Flight Service for a weather briefing nor did he file a flight plan. When the pilot took off, visibility was poor due to heavy mist. A witness said visibility worsened when a wall of fog covered the airfield while the airplane was in the traffic pattern. He heard the airplane at full power, and watched it fly about 100 feet over the hangars where the landing gear was illuminated by the rotating beacon. The witness stated 'he throttled up to do a go-around' and heard the airplane all the way to impact. Emergency crews from four different municipalities required 1 hour and 20 minutes to locate the wreckage on the airport due to heavy fog. The airspeed indicator needle was crushed against the face at the 160 knot striation. The engine tachometer needle was crushed against the face at the 3200 RPM striation, 500 RPM above the placarded redline. A review of the pilot's logbook revealed he had 135 hours of total flight experience. He had logged 1.8 hours in the month before the accident. Prior to that, he had not flown in 7 months, and his last night experience was 18 months prior to the accident. He was not instrument rated.
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: 137 hours in all; 57 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 83 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,199 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 24, 1998; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OXB at 1:40 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14, 4,070 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from WWD, 40 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.