Cessna R172K N736WZ

Summary

On 22 January 1997 at about 15:45 local time, a Cessna R172K registered N736WZ, operated by Ronald J. Haarer, was involved in an accident near Bagdad, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 January 1997 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bagdad, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

34.5008, -113.0707

Aircraft

Cessna R172K

Registration

N736WZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Ronald J. Haarer

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Kingman

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX97FA093

1 person died.

continued flight by the pilot into adverse weather conditions, and his failure to maintain sufficient altitude or clearance from terrain. Factors relating to the accident were: the high/mountainous terrain and adverse weather conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The operator reported that several flights were canceled on the morning of the accident due to darkening weather north of the departure airport. A witness on the ground reported that the mountain tops around the accident site were shrouded in clouds. A second witness reported a cloud bank over the mountains, southeast of the destination airport. A third witness flying through the area reported that the mountains near the accident site were obscured in low clouds. The pilot received a weather briefing before departure. The aircraft was found to have crashed into rising mountainous terrain south of his destination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.