Cessna 172S N967SP
18 December 2008 · Goodland, Florida, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 18 December 2008 at about 00:45 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N967SP, operated by Naples Air Center, was involved in an accident near Goodland, Florida, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 00:45
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Goodland, Florida, United States
- Coordinates
- 25.9086, -81.6489
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S
- Registration
- N967SP
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Naples Air Center
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Naples → Naples
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night
- NTSB number
- ERA09FA092
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident was the night light conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot departed at night in visual meteorological conditions to work on night recurrence training and was flying in an area over water with limited visual references. Witnesses near the accident site reported hearing the sound of an airplane engine that increased in rpm. Some witnesses observed the airplane in a "nose-dive" toward the water. The airplane crashed into about 5 feet of water on a tidal mud-flat, about 16 miles south-southeast of the departure airport. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions or anomalies. The pilot had accumulated about 820 hours of total flight experience and had flown about 20 hours during the 2 years preceding the accident. He did not possess an instrument rating. A law enforcement helicopter pilot who responded to the accident site reported that it was very dark and believed that lack of visual cues with the naked eye would have required navigation via aircraft instrumentation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 172 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug 2008 | Cessna 172 | Pastaza, Ecuador | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 7 Apr 2008 | Cessna 172S | San Luis Obispo, California, United States | Pacific Aerocademy | No injuries | - |
| 28 Apr 2008 | Cessna 172F | White Plains, New York, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 30 Jul 2008 | Cessna 172 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Flight School Hawaii, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 3 May 2008 | Cessna 172M | Dixie, Idaho, United States | Anthony Maniglia | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jul 2008 | Cessna 172S | Stevensville, Maryland, United States | Chesapeake ProFlight, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
All 12,209 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Mar 2008 | Cessna 182B | Wildwood, Florida, United States | Henry George Traill | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Dec 2008 | Bell OH-58C | Osceola County, Florida, United States | Helicopter Applicators, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 13 Dec 2008 | Kimball PITTS MODEL-12 | Weirdales, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 16 Jun 2008 | McKeehan James F ACRODUSTER II SA750 | Panama City, Florida, United States | Kevin G. Gorham | Fatal | 1 |
| 6 May 2008 | Beechcraft 65-A90 | Titusville, Florida, United States | Titusville Drop Zone | No injuries | - |
| 29 Aug 2008 | Ercoupe (Eng & Research Corp ) 415-C | Sebring, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |