Cessna 177RG accident near Farmingdale, New York, January 20, 1986
On January 20, 1986 at about 2:09 am local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N34069, was destroyed in an accident near Farmingdale, New York. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 20, 1986 · about 2:09 am local time
- Place
- Farmingdale, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N34069 · no longer on the register · serial 177RG0958
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES IN THE BETHPAGE STATE PARK DURING A RWY 14 ILS APCH AT REPUBLIC AIRPORT, FARMINGDALE, NY. THE PLT HAD INSTRUCTED HIS PASSENGER, A PRIVATE PLT, TO REPORT WHEN HE HAD THE APCH LIGHTS IN SIGHT. THE PLT STATED THE APCH WAS CONTINUED UNTIL AN ALT OF 300 FT WAS REACHED AT WHICH TIME THE GLIDE SLOPE FLAG APPEARED. HE INITIATED A MISSED APCH AT THIS TIME, HOWEVER, THE ACFT CONTACTED TREES. DECISION HEIGHT FOR THE APCH IS 329 FT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,563 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 98 in the last 90 days; 1,417 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 889 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 14, 1985; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air East Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: EEN Keene NH
- Destination: Farmingdale NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 200 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:12 am from FRG, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.