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NYC82DA209 · Cessna 421C

25 Aug 1982 · Saratoga Springs, NY, United States

Richmor Aviation Cessna 421C · Accident: in flight collision with object on approach

From Columbia County Airport (1B1) to Saratoga County Airport (5B2)

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Event

NTSB case
NYC82DA209
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Instrument Meteorological Cond

Cessna 421C

Aircraft type
Cessna 421
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N88572
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Columbia County Airport (1B1), Hudson, NYTo Saratoga County Airport (5B2), Saratoga Springs, NY
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Approach · IFR final approach
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Tree(s)
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Copilot/second pilot › Monitoring, inadequate
  • Pilot in command › Diverted attention
  • Pilot in command › Navigation receiver, improper use of

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON A FLIGHT TO REPOSITION IT FOR AN AIR TAXI OPERATION. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) WAS IN THE RIGHT SEAT WHILE THE SECOND-IN-COMMAND (SIC) WAS FLYING IN THE LEFT SEAT. DURING ARRIVAL TO THE SARATOGA COUNTY AIRPORT, THE AIRCREW WERE CLEARED FOR THE VOR-A APPROACH. ACCORDING TO THE PIC, WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE GILLA INTERSECTION AND STARTED TO PROCEED OUTBOUND, THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS OBSERVED ON THE PROCEDURE TURN (SOUTH) SIDE OF THE RADIAL. THEREFORE, THEY ELECTED TO MAKE A COURSE REVERSAL ON THE NORTH SIDE. DUE TO MODERATE TO HEAVY TURBULENCE, THE PIC WAS DISTRACTED AND WAS NOT SURE IF HE SET IN THE CORRECT INBOUND HEADING. AFTER INTERCEPTING WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS THE PROPER INBOUND RADIAL, A DESCENT WAS STARTED. JUST AFTER BREAKING OUT OF THE CLOUDS AT 1800 TO 1900FT, THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES. A MISSED APPROACH WAS MADE AND THE AIRCREW DIVERTED TO ANOTHER AIRPORT WHERE THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED DURING LANDING. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THEY WERE NOT SURE WHETHER THE DME WAS ON ALBANY OR CAMBRIDGE.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record NYC82DA209
Event ID
20020917X04005
Case number
NYC82DA209
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 47a8cf27b2ef7b01aa00e57374308c7eb38df38848f824c764a402ea934d0bb3; retrieved 2026-09-24T01:19:16.911Z.