NYC90FA054

1990-01-16 · BURLINGTON, Vermont, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BTV

Aircraft involved

N5115J Cessna 310R Fatal

Probable cause & findings

FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON, THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED A DESCENT AND CRASHED IN A LAKE.

Factual narrative

THE CESSNA 310 DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR AS IT WS BEING VECTORED TO AN ILS APPROACH AT NIGHT IN IMC CONDITIONS. SUBSEUQENTLY IT CRASHED IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN. THE LAST RECORDED ALTITUDE WAS 2100 FT, EXCEPT THE CONTROLLER SAW IT MOMENTARILY AT 1200 FEET PRIOR TO ITS DISAPPEARANCE. COMMUNICATIONS WERE NORMAL. A PORTION OF THE FUSELAGE WAS RECOVERED SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER THE ACCIDENT; HOWEVER, AN EXAM OF THIS PORTION OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT REVEAL WHY THE ACDNT HAD OCCURRED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_NYC90FA054.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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