Cessna 172N N4500E

Summary

On 18 July 1992 at about 15:50 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N4500E, operated by Battle Creek Air Service, Inc., was involved in an accident near Lake Michigan, Michigan, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

18 July 1992 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Michigan, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N4500E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Battle Creek Air Service, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Battle Creek → St. James

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI92FAMS2

4 people died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS DEPARTED BATTLE CREEK MICHIGAN AT 1000, ENROUTE TO BEAVER ISLAND LOCATED IN NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. PILOT WAS RECEIVING VFR ADVISORIES FROM MINNEAPOLIS CENTER, AND REQUESTED A DESCENT NORTH OF TRAVERSE CITY TO GET BELOW A SCATTERED LAYER. DESCENT TOOK THE AIRPLANE BELOW RADAR COVERAGE, AND VFR SERVICES WERE TERMINATED. PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED 1200 TRANSPONDER CODE, AND REPORTED THAT HE WAS VFR AT 1200 FEET MSL. THIS WAS THE LAST CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE AT 1150. THE BROTHER OF ONE OF THE PASSENGERS, WHOM THE GROUP WAS GOING TO VISIT, ATTEMPTED TO CALL AND TELL THEM NOT TO COME BECAUSE THE ISLAND WAS ENGULFED BY HEAVY FOG, BUT THEY HAD ALREADY LEFT. HE REPORTED THE AIRPLANE MISSING AT 1700. COORDINATED SEARCH FOUND NO TRACE OF AIRPLANE OR OCCUPANTS. THREE WEEKS LATER, PERSON WALKING ON BEACH NEAR GOOD HART, MICHIGAN, FOUND AN AIRPLANE WHEEL AND WHEEL FAIRING. AIRPLANE AND OCCUPANTS ARE STILL MISSING.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.