On Sun, 09 Sep 2007 19:22:13 -0400, Bob Noel
wrote:

The 95 degrees only put the DA near 2500'. Assuming they weren't
using the 2200' turf runway, shouldn't 3500' have been enough runway
for a properly loaded/properly functioning 172M?

News reports state 4 mid-30's male occupants were aboard and "at least
2 golf bags" were in the wreckage. Rented airplane from Maine, pilot
has had his ticket around a year.

I read a quote from a pilot witness who was attending an EAA fly-in
who thought that the plane took a long time to gain speed, although
the engine sounded fine, and failed to gain much altitude, then
turned, stalled, and went straight in. The photos are awful, and
bear out the straight-in reports.

Another report I read stated that the pilot made a mayday call that he
couldn't "clear the trees", and was turning back to the field.

Apparently, the plane arrived in Mansfield with three aboard, and the
forth (maybe with a golf bag?) boarded there, for trip over to Cape
Cod for a golf trip. Since most courses worth flying to usually don't
allow sharing clubs, you have to wonder if the plane had four guys and
four golf bags. Mansfield is a 30 minute or so hop to pretty much
anywhere on the Cape with an airport, so he wouldn't have needed lots
of fuel.

On a side note, Skylune might live in that area...