COMMUNICATIONS

No record exists of the pilot, or a pilot using the airplane's registration number, receiving a weather briefing or filing a flight plan with any FAA FSS for the accident flight. Further, no record exists of the pilot, or a pilot using the airplane's registration number, contacting any FSS or ATC tower or facility during the duration of the flight, except for those at CDW.

The MVY ATC tower tape revealed that, during the period of time from when the accident airplane departed CDW until the tower closed and the recorder was turned off (about 2200), no contact was attempted by the pilot, the call sign of N9253N, or any unknown station.

TRAFFIC ALERT AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM (TCAS) ALERT NEAR HPN

According to the Aeronautical Informational Manual (AIM), definitions for Class B and D airspace are as follows:

Class B Airspace: "Generally, that airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL [mean sea level], surrounding the nation's busiest airports in terms of IFR operations or passenger enplanements...An ATC clearance is required for all aircraft to operate in the area, and all aircraft that are so cleared receive separation services within the airspace...Regardless of weather conditions, an ATC clearance is required prior to operating within Class B airspace..."

Class D Airspace: "Generally, that airspace from the surface to 2,500 feet above the airport elevation (charted in MSL) surrounding those airports that have an operational control tower...Two-way radio communication must be established with the ATC facility providing ATC services prior to entry and thereafter maintain those communications while in the Class D airspace...."

The following TCAS alert occurred during the approach of a commercial airplane to HPN, which was located within published Class D airspace and the New York Class B airspace. On July 16, 1999, about 2049, American Airlines flight 1484, a Fokker 100, was inbound for landing at HPN. According to the transcripts of communications between flight 1484 and the New York approach controller, at 2049:33, flight 1484 was level at 6,000 feet. At 2049:48, the controller instructed flight 1484 to descend and maintain 3,000 feet, which flight 1484 acknowledged. At 2050:32, the controller issued an approach clearance to flight 1484, which flight 1484 also acknowledged. The following is an excerpt of the communications transcript between flight 1484 and the controller regarding the TCAS:

2052:22, the controller, "American fourteen eighty four traffic one o'clock and five miles eastbound two thousand four hundred, unverified, appears to be climbing."

2052:29, flight 1484, "American fourteen eighty four we're looking."

2052:56, the controller, "fourteen eighty four traffic one o'clock and uh three miles twenty eight hundred now, unverified."

2053:02, flight 1484, "um yes we have uh (unintelligible) I think we have him here american fourteen eighty four."

2053:10, flight 1484, "I understand he's not in contact with you or anybody else."

2053:14, the controller, "uh nope doesn't not talking to anybody."

2053:27, flight 1484, "seems to be climbing through uh thirty one hundred now we just got a traffic advisory here."

2053:35, the controller, "uh that's what it looks like."

2053:59, flight 1484, "uh we just had a."

2054:12, the controller, "American fourteen eighty four you can contact tower nineteen seven."

2054:15, flight 1484, "nineteen seven uh we had a resolution advisory seemed to be a single

engine piper er commanche or something."

2054:21, the controller, "roger."

The event occurred outside of the New York Class B and the HPN Class D airspace, and no corrective action was reported to have been taken by the controller or flight 1484. A review of the radar data correlated the unknown target with the track of N9253N.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

MVY had a field elevation of 68 feet. The hours of operation for the contract-operated tower were from 0600 to 2200. MVY had two runways. Runway 06/24 was asphalt-surfaced, 5,500 feet long, and 100 feet wide. Runway 15/33 was asphalt-surfaced, 3,297 feet long, and 75 feet wide. A VOR-distance measuring equipment (DME) navigation aid was located on the airport. The VOR was listed with a normal anticipated interference-free service of 40 nm, up to 18,000 feet with DME. ILS, VOR, and GPS instrument approaches were published for the airport.

MVY was located about 10 miles east of Gay Head. Gay Head had a lighthouse for marine navigation at 41 degrees, 20.9 minutes north latitude; 70 degrees, 50.1 minutes west longitude. According to USCG personnel, the top of the lighthouse was 170 feet above mean low water and operated 24 hours-a-day. The rotating beacon ran on a 15-second cycle, 7.3 seconds white and 7.3 seconds red. The expected range of the white light was 24 miles, and the expected range of the red light was 20 miles.

FLIGHT RECORDERS

The airplane was equipped with a Flightcom Digital Voice Recorder Clock, DVR 300i. The unit contained a digital clock, was wired into the radio communications circuits, and could record conversations between the airplane and other radio sources, ground, or air. The unit was voice activated, and the continuous loop could record and retain a total of 5 minutes of data. The unit had a nonvolatile speech memory that required a 9-volt backup battery to preserve the speech data. When the unit was located in the wreckage, it was crushed, its backup battery was missing, and it had retained no data.

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