Cessna P172D N8584X

Summary

On 18 January 2010 at about 01:50 local time, a Cessna P172D registered N8584X, operated by Douglas L. Tindal, was involved in an accident near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. One person was on board and 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

18 January 2010 at 01:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Cedar Rapids (CID)

Coordinates

41.8844, -91.7106

Aircraft

Cessna P172D

Registration

N8584X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Douglas L. Tindal

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tulsa → Washington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN10CA100

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain a proper glidepath during the approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of instrument proficiency.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated pilot received a preflight weather briefing and delayed the flight as instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) were forecast for his route of flight until 1200. The briefer stated that the ceiling at the pilot’s destination airport would probably be 2,000 feet overcast at best later in the day. At 1600, the pilot departed without obtaining another weather briefing, and received flight following during the course of the flight. The pilot reported that while en route he was going to stop for fuel; however, the destination airport was IMC so he decided to continue. Upon reaching his destination he discovered that the weather was IMC, so he diverted to a nearby airport, where he requested emergency assistance. The approach controller offered the nearest visual flight rules airport; however, the pilot stated that he did not have enough fuel to get there. The pilot informed the controller that he had practiced instrument landing system (ILS) approaches during a flight review. The controller gave the pilot vectors and a frequency for an ILS approach. The pilot stated that he attempted to fly the glideslope, but that he became confused as to whether he should climb or descend in order to center the glideslope needle. The airplane contacted the terrain about 2 miles east of the airport and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot had a total of 4 hours of instrument flight time.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.