Cessna 170B accident near Oneonta, New York, June 24, 1998
On June 24, 1998 at about 6:20 pm local time, a Cessna 170B, registered N3493C, was destroyed in an accident near Oneonta, New York (Oneonta Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The separation of the left rudder cable. A factor was chafing of the cable.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 1998 · about 6:20 pm local time
- Place
- Oneonta, New York · Oneonta Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3493C · registry record · serial 26536
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane veered to the right during landing. The pilot attempted a go-around, but had no left rudder response. The airplane continued in a right turn before it settled into some trees about 200 feet from the runway and 110 degrees from the runway heading. Examination of the airplane revealed a broken left rudder cable. The cable was replaced in July 1985, had 454 hours of flight time on it, and was found free of corrosion. Breaks in wire strands varied along a 1-inch section of the cable, and numerous broken strands were bent backwards. The cable break was in the vicinity of where the rudder cable went through a bulkhead, and then through a pulley mounted on the bulkhead's forward side.
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: 303 hours in all; 215 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 241 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,505 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 21, 1997; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N66 at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 305° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from ALB, 57 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.