Cessna 172RG N9531B
9 February 2006 · El Cajon, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 9 February 2006 at about 00:42 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N9531B was involved in an accident near El Cajon, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:42
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- El Cajon, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 32.7869, -116.9856
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172RG
- Registration
- N9531B
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- El Cajon → Brown Field
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX06FA106
People
3 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilots of both airplanes failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout due to their relative flight paths, which limited the available visual cues. Factors were the failure of the air traffic controller(s) to issue a conflict alert to the Cessna 172RG after repeated visual and aural warnings of an impending collision and the task load of the certified flight instructor.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
A Cessna 182Q and a Cessna 172RG, were operating in class D airspace and departed from the same airport. The Cessna 172RG was operating under instrument flight rules as an instructional flight (IFR) and receiving radar service from an approach control facility, while the Cessna 182 was operating under visual flight rules (VFR) and had been released from communication with air traffic control. The pilot undergoing instruction in the Cessna 172RG was most likely wearing a view limiting device which tasked the certified flight instructor seated in the right seat to serve as both an instructor and a safety pilot. The Cessna 172RG departed first, performing a right 260-degree turn over the airport and was assigned a southwest heading by the controller. The Cessna 182Q departed to the west and made a left turn, while climbing in a southeasterly direction. The heading assigned to the Cessna 172RG put it on a direct collision course with the Cessna 182Q, with a collision angle of 40 degrees. Following a discussion with the controller about the pilot's intentions upon completion of an approach, the controller instructed the Cessna 172RG to fly heading 190. The pilot read back, "One nine" and no further transmissions were received from the Cessna 172RG. In class D airspace, there is no specified separation requirement between VFR and IFR aircraft. However, controllers still have a responsibility to be vigilant for potential collisions between aircraft under these circumstances. This accident occurred after the controllers in communication with the Cessna 172RG had received a sustained conflict alert involving the Cessna 172RG and Cessna 182Q (operating on a VFR transponder code), but failed to recognize or resolve the conflict. Comparisons of the calculated convergence angles of the two airplanes showed that for an 85th percentile male seated in the left seat (Cessna did not create pilot view angles for pilots seated in the front right seat), the Cessna 172RG pilot was about 15 degrees outside of the right view angle and the Cessna 182Q pilot was within about 6 degrees of the left view angle.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172RG | N9531B | - | Destroyed |
| Cessna 182Q | N759KE | William Kupiec | Destroyed |
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 2006 | Cessna 172N | Petal, Mississippi, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 14 Dec 2006 | Cessna 172C | Middletown, New York, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 29 Aug 2006 | Cessna 172R | Winder, Georgia, United States | The Flight School of Gwinnett | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jun 2006 | Cessna 172S | Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States | King Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 25 Apr 2006 | Cessna 172L | Montgomery Twp, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 17 Dec 2006 | Cessna 172 | Bonners Ferry, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 2006 | Beechcraft A36 | Bakersfield, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 2006 | Learjet 55 | Van Nuys, California, United States | Clay Lacy Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 18 Dec 2006 | Beechcraft D95A | Gilroy, California, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |
| 19 Oct 2006 | Boeing 737-790 | Los Angeles, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Oct 2006 | Williams BOWERS FLY BABY-1A | Oakdale, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Oct 2006 | Cessna 152 | Prunedale, California, United States | United Flight Services | Minor injuries | - |