Cessna 177 accident near Benton, IL

On July 22, 2001, a Cessna 177 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Benton, IL. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

July 22, 2001

Place

Benton, IL

Aircraft

Cessna 177 · Airplane

Injuries

3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

38.007°N, 88.949°W

NTSB ID

20010803X01602

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 22, 2001, about 1840 central daylight time, a Cessna 177, N235LA, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed on impact with objects and terrain during initial climb from runway 36 (2,720 feet by 60 feet, asphalt) at Benton Municipal Airport (H96), near Benton, Illinois. A post impact fire occurred. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was originating from H96 at the time of the accident and was destined for Warsaw Municipal Airport (ASW), near Warsaw, Indiana. A person representing N235LA placed a call to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) St. Louis Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) between 1813 and 1821. During that time that person requested a weather update between H96 and Terre Haute, Indiana. The pilot stated his intended destination was ASW. The FAA supplied a tape recording and transcript of that briefing given from Preflight Briefer 10 position (PF10) at St Louis AFSS. The first communication time listed was 2313:54 Zulu, which is 1813:54 central daylight time. An excerpt from the transcript stated the following. TIME & IDENT COMMUNICATION 2313:54 PF10 SAINT LOUIS FLIGHT SERVICE 2313:55 N235LA YES SIR, MA'AM UH, I'M IN A CESSNA NOVEMBER TWO THREE FIVE LIMA ALPHA AT BENTON AND UH, WE WERE GOING TO TERRE HAUTE BUT WEATHER GOT A LITTLE BAD SO I LANDED HERE UH, CAN YOU GIVE ME AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN HERE AND TERRE HAUTE? 2314:12

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in a stall.

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Browse: Illinois · Cessna aircraft

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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.