Cessna 172S accident near Incline Village, NV
On August 8, 2008, a Cessna 172S (airplane) was involved in an accident near Incline Village, NV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 8, 2008
- Place
- Incline Village, NV
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.271°N, 119.998°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080821X01272
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 7, 2008, approximately 2130 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N15963, impacted mountainous terrain during descent near Incline Village, Nevada. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was killed. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, Advantage Aviation, Inc., Palo Alto, California. Night visual meteorological conditions (VFR) prevailed at the accident site, and a flight plan was not filed. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight departed from Palo Alto about 2010, and the intended destination was Reno, Nevada. An acquaintance of the pilot reported that he had spoken with the pilot by telephone twice on the day of the accident. The pilot told him that he was going to fly from Palo Alto to Reno that evening and planned to arrive at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport about 2130. According to the acquaintance, the pilot intended to gamble at a casino in Reno. At the time of the accident, the pilot's spouse was out of the country and was not aware that the pilot was going to fly to Reno. After the accident, it was determined that the pilot had a substantial amount of cash with him, and the pilot's spouse stated that the large amount of cash he had with him indicated to her that he was going to Reno to gamble. Information provided by Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control (FAA ATC) personnel indicates that the airplane departed from Palo Alto Airport and proceeded northeast on a direct course towards Reno, climbing to and leveling out at an altit
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to initiate a flight for which he was neither approved nor qualified and his failure to maintain terrain clearance during the flight. Contributing to the accident were the dark night, the mountainous terrain, and the pilot's medical condition.
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
