Cessna 340 accident near Westhampton, New York, March 4, 1994
On March 4, 1994, a Cessna 340, registered N512SK, was destroyed in an accident near Westhampton, New York (Suffolk County (Gabreski) airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 inadequate inflight decision which resulted in ice accretion on the aircraft, degradation of aircraft performance, an aerodynamic stall, loss of control and inflight collision with the ground. Factors were icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 1994
- Place
- Westhampton, New York · Suffolk County (Gabreski) · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 340 · all 340s on the register
- Registration
- N512SK · registry record · serial 340-0111
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL HAD CLEARED THE AIRPLANE FOR THE ILS APPROACH TO RUNWAY 24, CIRCLE TO LAND ON RUNWAY 06. THE AIRPLANE BROKE OFF THE APPROACH TO RUNWAY 24, AND WAS OBSERVED BY A WITNESS AT A LOW ALTITUDE, ON A LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 06, FLYING IN AND OUT OF CLOUDS. ON THE BASE LEG, THE AIRPLANE TURNED TO THE LEFT, AND A WITNESS SAW THE LEFT WING MAKE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. ONE WITNESS SAID THAT BEFORE THE CRASH, THE ENGINE SOUNDED 'LIKE THEY WERE AT FULL RPM. SEVERAL PILOTS FROM THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD (ANG) AT THE AIRPORT WENT TO THE CRASH SITE MINUTES AFTER THE CRASH, AND OBSERVED ICE ON THE AIRPLANE'S WINGS AND EMPENNAGE. ONE OF THE ANG PILOT REPORTED HIS OBSERVATION OF THE ICE ON THE AIRCRAFT: 'IT APPEARED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 1/8 INCH IN THICKNESS THROUGHOUT THE LEFT AND RIGHT WING SURFACES AND THE REAR EMPENNAGE SECTIONS . . .' ANOTHER ANG PILOT DESCRIBED THE WEATHER AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AS, VISIBILITY LESS THEN ONE MILE WITH 'FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET.' THE EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE DID NOT DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION.
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: 6,828 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 77 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 5,964 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,857 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 11, 1994; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,305 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: James Flying Service INC
The flight
- Departed from: TTN Trenton NJ at 11:18 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 1.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.