Cessna 172 accident near Weston, FL
On January 23, 2024, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Weston, FL. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 23, 2024
- Place
- Weston, FL
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 26.150°N, 80.510°W
- NTSB ID
- 20240124193703
Official records · ERA24FA096
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 23, 2024, about 1844 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N737VC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Weston, Florida. Both commercial pilots were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The owner of the flight school from which the left-seat pilot rented the airplane reported that the purpose of the flight was to build flight time. He stated that the left-seat pilot had been a student at the school about two years before the accident and had completed a flight review with one of the school’s flight instructors on the morning of the accident flight. The owner also reported that the left- and right-seat pilots met for the first time on the day of the accident, and that the right-seat pilot was on board to act as a safety pilot at the request of the left-seat pilot. ADS-B data revealed that the airplane departed to the east from North Perry Airport (HWO), Hollywood, Florida, at 1830 before turning 180° right onto a westerly track. The airplane climbed to a maximum altitude of 1,950 ft mean sea level (msl) about 1834 before beginning to descend. The airplane’s altitude then varied between 1,000 and 1,600 ft msl, and its calibrated airspeed (based on a performance study of the ADS-B data) varied between 90 and 120 kts. Beginning about 1837:45, the airplane made a gradual right turn to a northerly track toward the Everglades Wildlife Management Area, an undeveloped wetland area with little to no ground lighting. At 1840, the right-seat pilot
Probable cause
The pilots’ spatial disorientation in dark night visual meteorological conditions, which resulted in their failure to maintain altitude and a subsequent descent and impact with a swamp.
More accidents in FL
- Grumman G-73T, Dec 19, 2005
- Beech B90, Jan 5, 1994
- Beech B-90, Sep 3, 1999
- Cessna 182B, Feb 7, 1982
- Pilatus Aircraft Ltd PC-12/47, Jun 7, 2012
Browse: Florida · 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.
