Cessna 152 accident near Middlefield, Connecticut, October 14, 2001
On October 14, 2001 at about 1:02 am local time, a Cessna 152, registered N94567, was destroyed in an accident near Middlefield, Connecticut. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient altitude while maneuvering, which resulted in a collision with terrain. Factors in the accident were the dark night, rising terrain, and clouds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 14, 2001 · about 1:02 am local time
- Place
- Middlefield, Connecticut · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N94567 · no longer on the register · serial 15285729
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After departure, on a night VFR flight, the airplane impacted an up-sloping wooded area, about 6 miles northeast of the departure airport. The wreckage site was at an elevation of 493 feet mean sea level (msl), on a ridgeline, which reached to an elevation of 758 feet msl. The weather at the departure airport, about the time of departure, included 4 statute miles of visibility with mist, scattered clouds at 1,600 feet, and a temperature and dew point of 13 degrees Celsius. The weather at the destination airport, about the time of the accident, included 3 statute miles visibility, broken clouds at 500 and 1,000 feet, and a temperature and dew point of 13 degrees Celsius. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing the day of the accident.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,523 hours in all; 1,277 as pilot in command; 937 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 10, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,230 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 24, 2001; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MMK Meriden CT
- Destination: 3B9 Chester CT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N94567 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.