Cessna 208B accident near Schuyler Falls, New York, January 30, 1990
On January 30, 1990 at about 1:33 am local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N854FE, was destroyed in an accident near Schuyler Falls, New York (Clinton County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
LOSS OF CONTROL INFLIGHT AFTER THE AIRPLANE STALLED DURING CLIMBOUT. THE STALL RESULTED FROM A LOSS OF LIFT DUE TO A CONTAMINATED WING SURFACE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO DE-ICE THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO DEPARTURE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 30, 1990 · about 1:33 am local time
- Place
- Schuyler Falls, New York · Clinton County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N854FE · no longer on the register · serial 208B0172
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CESSNA 208B MADE A TAKEOFF WITH LIGHT WET SNOW FALLING, AT NIGHT. THE AIRPLANE REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF 700 FT AGL PRIOR TO MAKING A STEEP DESCENT, STRIKING TREES AND IMPACTING INVERTED. RADAR DATA SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT LIFT OFF POINT AND INITIAL CLIMB RATE APPROACHED THAT SHOWN IN THE FLIGHT MANUAL FOR SHORT FIELD TECHNIQUE. TWO OTHER CESSNA 208'S PRECEDED THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT FROM THE SAME AIRPORT, ONE 13 MINUTES PRIOR AND THE OTHER 3 MINUTES PRIOR. RADAR DATA SHOWED THEY CLIMBED AT A SLOWER RATE. THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE HAD COME FROM A HANGAR AND WAS NOT DEICED PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. A PILOT FLYING A IDENTICAL AIRPLANE WITH A SIMILAR LOAD COMMENTED THAT HIS CLIMB RATE WAS LOWER THAN NORMAL. ANOTHER PILOT COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST WET SNOW OF THE YEAR AND IT WAS STICKING TO HIS ENGINE COWLING.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,999 hours in all; 1,482 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 4,823 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 390 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 21, 1989; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: E.W. Wiggins Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PLB Plattsburgh NY at 1:31 am
- Destination: SYR Syracuse NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 090° at 7 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 pm from PLB, 2 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.