Cessna 172S accident near St. George, UT
On May 26, 2012, a Cessna 172S (airplane) was involved in an accident near St. George, UT. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 26, 2012
- Place
- St. George, UT
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 37.020°N, 113.517°W
- NTSB ID
- 20120527X21141
Official records · WPR12FA230
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 26, 2012, about 0120 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N953SP, collided with terrain shortly after departing from St. George Municipal Airport, St. George, Utah. Diamond Flying LLC was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The local personal flight was departing from St. George with a planned destination of Mesquite, Nevada. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. A friend of the pilot stated that he arrived at a party on the evening of May 25 and the pilot was already there. He recalled both himself and the pilot having several alcoholic beverages (two shots of Southern Comfort liqueur) between 2030 and 2200, but was not aware of his alcohol consumption before or after that time frame; there was also Bud Light and Smirnoff Vodka at the party. He recalled two of the passengers were also drinking alcohol at the party and the third passenger did not consume any alcohol because he was the designated driver for the group. Shortly thereafter, himself, the pilot, and three passengers all left the party and decided to drive to another party. The friend further stated that while en route to the other party, the vehicle was pulled over by a police officer. While they were all waiting in the car for the officer to complete the traffic stop, one of the passengers suggested that the group should go to Mesquite, since he frequently drove there on the weekends
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an aggressive pitch-up maneuver, which resulted in a low-altitude aerodynamic stall shortly after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment from alcohol consumption and an over-gross-weight airplane.
More accidents in UT
- Beech A100, Aug 22, 2008
- Swearingen SA-226TC, Jan 15, 1987
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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.
