Cessna 172N N733DH

Summary

On 25 August 1999 at about 13:40 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N733DH, operated by Skyworld Flight Training CTR, was involved in an accident near Dyke, Virginia, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 August 1999 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Dyke, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

38.2603, -78.5706

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N733DH

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Skyworld Flight Training CTR

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport News → Weyers Cave

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC99FA214

4 people died.

The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in his inability to see the rapidly rising terrain. A factor was the pilot's inaccurate evaluation of the weather.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

When checking out the rental airplane, the pilot told the dispatcher that the clouds along his route were at 3,100 feet, that he would be flying at 2,500 feet, and that the weather at his destination was clear. He then departed, the flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions and the airplane impacted a 3,280-foot mountain. The wreckage was located on a 30-degree slope, about 2,370 feet above sea level. The mountain was part of a chain, with maximum local elevations ranging from about 2,500 feet to over 3,200 feet above sea level. The pilot had received his private pilot certification less than 3 weeks earlier and was not instrument rated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.