Cessna 172 accident near Charlotte Amalie, CB
On August 4, 2023, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Charlotte Amalie, CB. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 4, 2023
- Place
- Charlotte Amalie, CB
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 18.328°N, 65.121°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230808192822
Official records · ERA23LA328
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC - Attachment 2 - Certified Audio: Recording (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
- ATC - Group Chairman's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC - Attachment 3 - Ads-B Data: Document (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
- ATC - Attachment 4 - Accident Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
On August 4, 2023, at 2117 Atlantic standard time, a Cessna 172M, N13384, was presumed destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The commercial pilot and the private pilot were not located and were presumed fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to an FAA inspector, the purpose of the flight was for the private pilot to accumulate additional hours of flight experience toward an instrument rating. Review of ADS-B and air traffic control data revealed that the airplane departed Rafael Hernandez Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, about 1933. The airplane was en route to Cyril E. King Airport (STT), Charlotte Amalie, USVI, on an instrument flight rules flight plan at 5,000 ft msl. At 2043:25, the flight crew requested the ILS Runway 10 approach at STT, followed by the missed approach procedure, and a return to BQN. The San Juan approach controller issued missed approach instructions to turn right to a 250° heading and climb and maintain 3,000 ft msl. The flight crew acknowledged this with a correct readback and no further transmissions were received from the flight crew. After the missed approach, at 2109:31, the controller instructed the flight crew to climb and maintain 6,000 ft msl and proceed directly to BQN. At 2114:30, ADS-B track data depicted the airplane deviating from its on-course heading in the climb, turning to the right as it entered an area of isolated, light to heavy precipitation (the airplane had flown
Probable cause
The pilots’ loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident was both pilots’ lack of experience in operating in actual instrument meteorological conditions.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
