Cessna 172S N3554Y

Summary

On 2 December 2012 at about 05:00 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N3554Y, operated by Krall Jose H, was involved in an accident near Kahului, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 December 2012 at 05:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Kahului, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Kahului Airport (OGG)

Coordinates

21.0261, -156.4542

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N3554Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Krall Jose H

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kahului → Kaunakakai

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR13LA062

1 person died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control while operating over water in dark night conditions with reduced visibility due to rain in the area.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated pilot was conducting a personal interisland flight. According to air traffic control information, shortly after the airplane took off, an air traffic controller observed that the airplane's radar track was not heading toward the pilot's intended destination. He asked the pilot if he still intended to land at his original destination, and the pilot replied that he did. The pilot then reported that he was going to perform a 360-degree turn to track toward his intended destination. However, the airplane's radar track showed that the airplane then made a descending left turn. Subsequently, radio and radar contact with the pilot and airplane, respectively, were lost, and a search and rescue mission was initiated. Parts of the airplane were located, but the pilot and the majority of the airplane were not found. During the flight, the pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Dark (moonless) night conditions prevailed for the flight. Weather information did not reveal the presence of any aviation weather hazards. The data did identify the potential for broken cloud layers below 3,000 ft mean sea level in the area at the time of the accident. Further, weather radar imagery identified light rain showers at ground level. The pilot's intended flightpath likely would have taken the airplane through or very close to the area of light rain; however, it could not be determined how long the pilot might have operated the airplane in these conditions. It is likely that the pilot became spatially disoriented after flying over the ocean during dark night conditions with reduced visibility and subsequently failed to maintain airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.