What happened
On the afternoon of September 24, 1962, a Cessna 140, registration HB-CAV, departed Stuttgart, Germany, for a private flight destined for Düsseldorf. During the flight, the pilot became lost and lost navigational direction. As twilight approached, the pilot attempted an out-of-field landing to avoid flying in darkness.
At approximately 19:00 local time, the pilot initiated the tenth approach toward a selected landing site near Uessinghausen, in the Northeim district of Germany. During the landing roll, the aircraft veered into a beet field. The momentum caused the aircraft to overturn, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. The pilot escaped the incident without injury.
The investigation
The investigation was conducted via a summary procedure, incorporating findings from a report provided by the German Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrtbundesamt) dated October 1, 1962, as well as supplementary information provided by the pilot on October 16, 1962.