Cessna 172F N72RE

Summary

On 29 November 1998 at about 22:10 local time, a Cessna 172F registered N72RE was involved in an accident near Coleman, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 November 1998 at 22:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Coleman, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

45.0693, -88.0294

Aircraft

Cessna 172F

Registration

N72RE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Charlotte → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99FA042

2 people died.

pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the trees and his intentional flight into IMC conditions. Factors contributing to this accident were the pilot's lack of instrument certification, his becoming lost in the poor weather, his inadequate preparation for flight by failing to obtain adequate weather information, his improper decision to attempt a visual approach in instrument conditions, and the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot-rated passenger said the pilot (her husband) flew over Lake Michigan at 6,500 feet msl to the Coleman, Wisconsin, area. Over Wisconsin they descended through three different cloud layers. She recalled passing 2,500 feet msl when they entered the first cloud layer, and that they flew between cloud layers. The last time she recalled seeing the altimeter, it indicated that the airplane was descending through 1,000 feet msl. 'We were doing a 4 mile circle to get down. We could see land and trees. Then we couldn't see anything. It was pure white. Then I was looking at this big birch tree.' Witnesses on the ground heard the airplane make two circular passes over their locations. One witness said that following the second pass he heard a loud revving of the engine followed one to two seconds later by the sound of wood cracking. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single- engine land rating. The pilot-rated passenger also holds a private-pilot certificate with single-engine land rating. At 1622 cst, the Flight Service Station at Green Bay, Wisconsin, reported ceilings of 800 feet agl broken, 1,100 feet agl overcast, 3 miles visibility, light rain and mist. Witnesses on the ground, who were within 1/2 mile of the accident site at the time the accident occurred, described the weather as consisting of thick fog and mist with the visibility less than 1/2 mile. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.