Cessna 172N accident near Montezuma Crk, UT
On September 14, 1998, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Montezuma Crk, UT. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 14, 1998
- Place
- Montezuma Crk, UT
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.210°N, 109.190°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11047
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 14, 1998, at 0820 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N737NH, was destroyed during impact with terrain near Montezuma Creek, Utah. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane was owned/operated by Four Corners Aviation Inc., Farmington, New Mexico, under Title 14 CFR part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country pipeline inspection flight which originated from Farmington, New Mexico, approximately 1.5 hours before the accident. A company VFR flight plan was on file with the FAA. According to the pilot's employee records, he started flying pipeline inspection flights in September, 1997. According to the senior pilot on the pipeline project, the pilot received a ground briefing and flight checkout which included: recommend inspection altitudes (100 to 150 feet agl), recommend airspeeds (not less than 80 knots), and bank angles not to exceed 45 degrees. On the morning of the accident, company records indicate that the airplane was topped-off with 33 gallons of fuel. A witness reported that the pilot departed Farmington at approximately 0650 for a pipeline inspection flight to California. Another witness observed the airplane flying on a heading of approximately 250 degrees and then "it started climbing to near vertical with a little left turn. He went over the top and turned left spinning left 2 times." Another witness stated that she had seen the airplane many times, and she observed it frequently fly side-to-side (90 degree knife edges) or do "pop-up turns." She further thou
Probable cause
The pilot's attempted aerobatic maneuver and the subsequent inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was his intentional low altitude flight.
More accidents in UT
- Beech A100, Aug 22, 2008
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Browse: Utah · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
