08-03-2025
Wildfire smoke contributed to fatal plane crash in Gilford: NTSB
Mar. 7—A West Ossipee pilot who died when his plane crashed into Lake Winnipesaukee in 2023 ignored a warning that wildfire smoke might make flying dangerous and lost control due to "spatial disorientation," according to an accident report.
"The pilot was advised by a flight instructor before departing on the accident flight that meteorological information indicated visibility might be diminished by the time he arrived at the destination airport, but he decided to depart anyway," according to the report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Robert Ashe, 70, was at the controls of the Cessna 150 when it crashed into more than 50 feet of water in Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford, according to Fish and Game at the time.
The pilot was completing a flight from Warwick, Rhode Island, to Laconia Municipal Airport, the report said.
"According to the instructor, who was a friend of the pilot, the pilot had experienced multiple delays returning the accident airplane to his home and had plans with a friend that evening," the report said. "Thus, the pilot appears to have disregarded information that the flight might have been unsafe to operate under VFR, and he likely did not divert because he was motivated to avoid further delays and attend to a social obligation."
VFR stands for visual flight rules.
Ashe had planned to see his girlfriend and celebrate a "special dinner," according to the report that cited a friend of the pilot.
"Several risk factors for spatial disorientation were present in this case: reduced visibility, manual control, and maneuvering flight," the report said. "Therefore, the pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation followed by a loss of control in flight."
Ashe took off from T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick around 4:10 p.m. Sept. 30, 2023, and crashed at 7:42 p.m.
"Witnesses indicated visibility in the area was reduced by wildfire smoke," the report said. "Surveillance video confirmed that the sky was obscured and that the airplane was flying through low clouds immediately before the loss of control occurred."
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