Cessna 182P accident near Dorrance, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1999
On August 6, 1999 at about 3:46 pm local time, a Cessna 182P, registered N4352P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dorrance, Pennsylvania. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudgment of distance and altitude, and his failure to do a go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 1999 · about 3:46 pm local time
- Place
- Dorrance, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182P · all 182Ps on the register
- Registration
- N4352P · no longer on the register · serial 18264661
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot performed an approach to an approximately 1,700 foot long airstrip he constructed on a 30-degree up-slope, heading northwest. The airplane touched down long, and the pilot aborted the landing. As the airplane climbed, the pilot had just began to retract the wing flaps, when a gust of wind made the airplane start to sink. The main landing gear then struck a guy wire that spanned about 45 feet above the ground. The guy wire, which remained caught with the landing gear and attached to two telephone poles that also held power-lines, slowed the airplane, nosing it over. After the accident, the pilot stated that the airplane was running fine, and several attempts to have the power lines moved away from the airstrip were made, but received resistance from nearby neighbors.
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: 191 hours in all; 158 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 72 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,574 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 12, 1999; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-S (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AVP Wilkes-Barre PA at 2:30 pm
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 1,700 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,600 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 pm from AVP, 12 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.