Cessna 172N accident near Hatch, NM
On November 4, 2017, a Cessna 172N (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hatch, NM. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 4, 2017
- Place
- Hatch, NM
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 32.666°N, 107.214°W
- NTSB ID
- 20171106X75233
Official records · CEN18FA024
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 4, 2017, about 1630 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N251CH, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain near Hatch Municipal Airport (E05), Hatch, New Mexico. The pilot and three passengers received fatal injuries. The airplane was owned by Caribbean Paradise LLC and was being operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed from E05 between 1630 and 1730 and was destined for El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas. The flight departed ELP earlier in the day and landed at E05 about 1300. The pilot and passengers went to a local restaurant in Hatch and had lunch; they were driven back to the airport around 1600. The exact departure time is unknown and there were no witnesses to the accident. The airplane impacted rugged desert terrain about 0.56 nautical mile west of the departure end of runway 29 (4,110 ft by 60 ft, asphalt) at E05. The flight did not return to ELP as expected, and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Alert Notice was issued. The wreckage was not located until about 1700 on November 5, 2017. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe 57-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate issued on September 23, 2016, with a single-engine land rating. On the application for that certificate, he reported 139.6 total hours of flight experience. The pilot's logbook was not obtained during the course of the investigation. He held a third-class FAA airman medical certifi
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall/spin.
More accidents in NM
- Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
- Piper PA-32-300, Dec 26, 1982
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Jun 25, 1992
- Cessna 421C, Feb 11, 1985
- Beech 58, Mar 26, 1982
Browse: New Mexico · 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.
