Fatal Lake Winnipesaukee plane crash death of Robert Ashe – Obituary
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicates that a small aircraft, which plummeted into Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, initially began to ascend from a descent before ultimately descending again. The NTSB released this information in their initial findings.
The sole occupant of the aircraft, whose identity wasn’t disclosed in the report, but identified by the state Fish and Game Department as Robert Ashe from West Ossipee, New Hampshire, tragically lost his life in the crash. Records from the Federal Aviation Administration showed that the Cessna 150 plane was registered to Ashe.
According to the NTSB report, the ill-fated flight took off from Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport in Providence at approximately 6:10 p.m. on September 30, with its destination set for the Laconia Municipal Airport in Gilford, situated near Lake Winnipesaukee. At around 7:38 p.m., the pilot initiated a right downwind leg of the traffic pattern for the runway. The weather conditions at the time were calm winds, a clear sky, and visibility extending to about 5 miles (8 kilometers).
The report elaborated, stating, “The airplane continued on the downwind and made a slight left turn while over Lake Winnipesaukee. The airplane then entered a descending right turn before it then began to climb. The airplane then entered another descending right turn before radar contact was lost.”
Eyewitnesses in the vicinity noted the plane’s landing lights, with one observer describing how the aircraft went into a full-throttle maneuver, descending in a right turn. Within seconds, it tragically crashed with the engine operating at full power, as outlined in the report.
The NTSB’s investigation revealed that the major flight control components of the aircraft were all accounted for, and there was no sign of in-flight or post-impact fire.