Cessna 172K accident near Littlefield, AZ
On July 21, 2014, a Cessna 172K (airplane) was involved in an accident near Littlefield, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 21, 2014
- Place
- Littlefield, AZ
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172K · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.550°N, 113.250°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140720X30534
Official records · WPR14FA302
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 20, 2014, about 1830 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172K airplane, N84754, collided with terrain about 4 miles northeast of Littlefield, Arizona. The airplane was destroyed by impact and a postcrash fire, and the private pilot and the passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was owned by D & G Aircraft Leasing LLC, Bountiful, Utah, and operated by the pilot as a personal cross-country flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed Beaver Municipal Airport (U52), Beaver, Utah, about 1715, bound for the Mesquite Airport (67L), Mesquite, Nevada, about 140 miles to the southwest. According to the pilot's father, the family had planned a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, and the pilot, who had recently obtained his private pilot certificate, wanted to fly the rented club airplane on the trip. The pilot and his brother (the passenger) were going to fly from Bountiful, Utah to Mesquite by following I-15 south, where they would meet both parents, who were driving to Las Vegas. During the trip, the passenger, who was communicating with the parents by cell phone and text messages, informed the parents that, due to the increasing wind, the pilot was landing at U52. Once on the ground, a telephone call was initiated, and the parents, who were ahead of the flight, stated that they would drive back to Beaver and pick up the brothers. The pilot requested that they wait and see what the wind did. The parents said they would wait in Mesquite for further informati
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control when the airplane encountered high gusting wind while conducting low altitude flight in a narrow canyon, which resulted in an inflight collision with terrain.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · 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.
