Cessna 172G accident near Pope Valley, CA

On February 9, 1995, a Cessna 172G (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pope Valley, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

February 9, 1995

Place

Pope Valley, CA

Aircraft

Cessna 172G · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

38.670°N, 122.439°W

NTSB ID

20001207X02990

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 9, 1995, at 1415 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172G, N4345L, collided with some wires and crashed into Lake Berryessa near Pope Valley, California, and sank. The pilot was conducting a local visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Petaluma Airport, Petaluma, California, on February 9, 1995, at an undetermined time. Two Napa County Sheriff deputies observed the accident. They said the airplane was flying in a nose-level southerly direction at a low altitude and collided with the wires. One deputy noted the airplane registration number before it collided with the wires. Another witness who was boating near the accident site. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. He also held a third-class medical certificate dated April 7, 1994; the certificate contained a "must have available glasses for near vision" limitation endorsement. National Transportation Safety Board investigators did not recover the pilot's flight hours logbook. The flight times reflected on page 3 of this report were obtained from the pilot's last medical certificate application form. The pilot showed on the form that he had accrued 399 flight hours. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The pilot's insurance representative sent the Safety Board copies of the aircraft and engine logbooks. Examination of the logboo

Probable cause

the pilot's poor judgment to buzz the lake and his inadequate visual lookout.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.