Cessna 305A accident near Warehouse Point, Connecticut, September 18, 1999
On September 18, 1999 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna 305A, registered N86WM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Warehouse Point, Connecticut (Skylark Airpark airport). It was an other work-use 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 pilot's misjudgment of the clearance between the airplane and the banner loop during banner pickup.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 18, 1999 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Warehouse Point, Connecticut · Skylark Airpark
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 305A · all 305As on the register
- Registration
- N86WM · registry record · serial 2017
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a banner pick-up, the banner became entangled on the right main landing gear. The pilot opted to land the airplane, and during the landing rollout, the airplane nosed over and on to its back.
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: 1,400 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 1,360 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,650 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 20, 1999; 130 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7B6 at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:51 pm from BDL, 5 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.
Other NTSB records under N86WM 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.