Cessna 172S N2116P

Summary

On 25 June 2004 at about 03:45 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N2116P was involved in an accident near Asheville, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 June 2004 at 03:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Asheville, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

35.6731, -82.4664

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N2116P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prestonsburg → Thomson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL04LA140

1 person was seriously injured.

The CFII's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clear of objects during flight. Factors were clouds and dark night.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the certified flight instructor, the student pilot was flying the airplane. He stated that, before the departure, they reviewed the weather data on the weather computer for the dark night flight. He stated that they climbed to 7500 feet and stayed there for about an hour using the moving map display for navigation, and the multifunctional display for terrain avoidance. He said the ceiling began to drop and to stay clear of clouds they adjusted their altitude to 5500 feet to maintain visual flight. The ceiling dropped some more and they adjusted their altitude to 4000 feet. The CFI and the student then descended to 3500 feet and according to the CFI, immediately upon reaching 3500 feet, the airplane began colliding with tree tops. He said they collided with trees in a level attitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.