Cessna 172P N6249K

Summary

On 13 August 2004 at about 13:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N6249K, operated by Mapleton Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Spanish Fork, Utah, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 August 2004 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Spanish Fork, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.1986, -111.3506

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N6249K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mapleton Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanich Fork → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04LA123

4 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's improper inflight planning and decision making, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were his intentional low altitude flight and maneuvering, the aircraft's climb performance being exceeded, and the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The purpose of the flight was to look for elk. One passenger said the airplane flew into a canyon and climbed towards a ridge. The pilot moved the throttle in and out, and the engine sputtered. Another passenger said they were flying "even with some mountain tops" at about 7,800 feet when they entered a canyon in a south-to-north direction. They were at an altitude between 200 and 500 feet agl, and the pilot said they needed to get some altitude. The passenger said he realized they needed to "get out of there," and he said something to that effect to the pilot. He said the pilot was manipulating the throttle and the engine sounded like it was "bogging down." Then the pilot was holding the control yoke with both hands and looking out both sides of the airplane as if he might be considering a course change. It appeared as if the pilot was trying to climb over an approaching peak. They could not climb faster than the rising terrain. A third passenger said the ground appeared to be rising faster than the airplane was climbing. The airplane pitched up, struck some small trees in a nose-high attitude, spun around, and then hit the ground. The on-scene investigation revealed no anomalies with the airplane. The engine was later tested and operated satisfactorily with a maximum of 2,350 rpm being attained.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.