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BFO89FA069

1989-08-22 · CHURCH CREEK, Maryland, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC AND PILOT DISORIENTATION, WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE, DARKNESS, AND THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITION.

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS ON A VFR FLIGHT, WHEN ACCORDING TO RADAR DATA, THE ACFT ENTERED AN AREA OVER THE CHESAPEAKE BAY REPORTED AS IMC. THE ACFT DESCENDED RAPIDLY AND CRASHED IN A WOODED SWAMP AREA JUST EAST OF THE BAY. THE PLT WAS RETURNING TO THE ARPT, WHERE THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED EARLIER. THE PLT OBTAINED A WX BRIEFING ABOUT 9 HRS EARLIER AND HE WAS ADVISED OF MARGINAL VFR FORECAST UP TO 1800 HRS. THE INVESTIGATION DID NOT DISCLOSE EVIDENCE THAT THE PLT RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING BEFORE THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. THE PLT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED AND HE OBTAINED A MULTI-ENGINE RATING 2 MONTHS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_BFO89FA069.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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