Cessna 172N accident near Bolinas, CA
On September 7, 2017, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bolinas, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 7, 2017
- Place
- Bolinas, CA
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 37.937°N, 122.726°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170902X54656
Official records · WPR17FA196
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Communications Summary (FAA): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 7, 2017, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N737QQ, impacted trees in Point Reyes National Park, Bolinas, California. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was owned by Sunwest Aviation Inc. and was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from the Santa Ynez Airport (IZA), Santa Ynez, California, about 1130 and was destined for the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport (STS), Santa Rosa, California. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at 1249, when the airplane was at an altitude of 6,500 ft mean sea level (msl), the pilot established radio communications with Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (NCT), Seca sector, and informed the controller that he was en route to STS. At 1311, the controller assigned the pilot an altitude of 6,000 ft msl. Six minutes later, the pilot indicated that he would be descending below the marine layer. When the controller queried the pilot about the intended altitude, the pilot asked about the altitude of the cloud bases. The controller did not know the cloud base altitude, and the pilot replied that the airplane would be descending to 1,500 ft msl. At 1321, the controller asked the pilot if he would be following the shoreline, and the pilot responded, "yes at 2,100 [ft]." At 1325, the contr
Probable cause
The non-instrument rated private pilot's improper decision to embark on a flight and continue to fly into forecasted instrument meteorological conditions and mountain obscuration while conducting a visual flight rules flight.
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Browse: California · 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.
