NTSB BFO92FA151 — 1992-09-18 · EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts, United States

N102SR has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CIRRUS DESIGN SR22, built 2006), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N102SR Cessna R182 Fatal

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOTS'S LACK OF REGARD FOR THE PUBLISHED DECISION HEIGHT OF THE APPROACH AND HIS DECISION NOT TO EXECUTE A MISSED APPROACH. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT INCLUDE THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ATTAIN THE PROPER GLIDEPATH AND DESCENT RATE DURING THE APPROACH, THE PILOT'S POOR IN FLIGHT DECISION TO CONTINUE THE APPROACH, WEATHER CONDITIONS WHICH WERE BELOW APPROACH MINIMUMS, DARK NIGHT LIGHTING CONDITIONS, AND SELF INDUCED PRESSURE BY THE PILOT TO COMPLETE THE FLIGHT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT WAS CLEARED FOR AN INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM APPROACH BY THE CONTROL TOWER. THE REPORTED WEATHER CONDITIONS INCLUDED A INDEFINITE CEILING OF 100 FEET AND ONE HALF MILE VISIBILITY WITH FOG. DURING THE APPROACH, THE AIRSPEED, GLIDEPATH, RATE OF DESCENT, AND POSITION RELATIVE TO THE GLIDESLOPE AND LOCALIZER WERE NOT STABILIZED. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TERRAIN ABOUT ONE HALF MILE FROM THE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE PUBLISHED DECISION HEIGHT FOR THE APPROACH IS 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. ACCORDING TO AN INSPECTOR WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS AERONAUTICS COMMISSION, THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS PAID TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS TO FLY THE TWO PASSENGERS, AND HE HAD BEEN PAID TO FLY THE SAME ROUTE AT LEAST TEN TIMES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_BFO92FA151.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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