Cessna P210N accident near Worcester, Vermont, August 14, 1999
On August 14, 1999 at about 5:08 pm local time, a Cessna P210N, registered N24CD, was destroyed in an accident near Worcester, Vermont (Morrisville-Stowe State airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 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 in-flight planning/decision, his failure to follow the published instrument departure procedure for the particular runway, and his continued flight into known adverse weather. A factor was thunderstorms.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 1999 · about 5:08 pm local time
- Place
- Worcester, Vermont · Morrisville-Stowe State
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna P210N · all P210Ns on the register
- Registration
- N24CD · no longer on the register · serial P21000798
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot received three weather briefings from a flight service station prior to departure. The briefings included forecasts of thunderstorm activity along the planned route of flight, and in the area of the departure airport. The pilot was asked by the weather briefer if the airplane was equipped with weather radar. The pilot stated that he had a stormscope and weather radar. He departed the runway with a 15-20 knot tailwind, did not follow the published instrument departure procedure, and flew south toward mountainous terrain. The wreckage was located about 200 feet from the summit, on the south side of the mountain. Witnesses at the airport and in the vicinity of the accident site report hearing thunder about the time of the accident. Additionally, weather imageries and surface observations confirmed areas of heavy precipitation south of the airport, in the vicinity of the accident site, at the time of the accident. The pilot made four brief transmissions to Air Traffic Control, but was never in radar contact.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 840 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 780 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,429 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 29, 1999; 173 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MVL Stowe VT at 4:52 pm
- Destination: CXY Harrisburg PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 3,701 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 1.2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from MPV, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N24CD 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.