Cessna 172P N6497K

Summary

On 3 August 1999 at about 04:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N6497K, operated by Robertson Aviation, was involved in an accident near Grants, New Mexico, 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

3 August 1999 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Grants, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.1502, -107.8295

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N6497K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robertson Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flagstaff → Albuquerque

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99FA142

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to fly the aircraft at an altitude sufficient to clear surrounding terrain. Factors were: The pilot's in-flight planning and decision making in proceeding into known adverse weather. Low ceiling, rain, lack of total pilot experience, and lack of total instrument time.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on a cross-country flight from Hawthorne, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the aircraft was proceeding from a fuel stop at Flagstaff, Arizona, to another fuel stop at Double Eagle Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pilot did not file a flight plan but was utilizing flight following. In the vicinity of Winslow, Arizona, the flight was observed by the controller to do a 180 degree turn and descend to an altitude that was below radar coverage capability. No communications or further radar contacts occurred. Two days later, when family members became concerned, an ALNOT was issued. Search efforts failed to find the missing aircraft. Nine days following the disappearance of the aircraft, a state police helicopter, working on another matter, picked up a weak ELT signal. Localization of this signal resulted in the aircraft being found approximately 160 miles east of its last known position. It had collided with the side of a mountain on a westerly heading, while in level flight, at approximately 10,600 feet above sea level. The duration and route of flight from the last radar target to the accident site could not be established. No evidence of structural and/or mechanical malfunction was found during the investigation. The weather in the area along the possible routes of flight, during the time period when the aircraft was in transit, was overcast skies with varying intensity rain and thunderstorms. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating in single engine land airplanes. He had an instrument rating issued approximately 2 weeks before the accident and had 213 hours of total flight experience, with 3 hours actual instrument time and 32 hours simulated instrument time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.