Cessna 172P N62681

Summary

On 3 July 2015 at about 20:45 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N62681, operated by FOX Flying Club Inc, was involved in an accident near Bartlett, Illinois, 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.

Date

3 July 2015 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bartlett, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

41.9625, -88.1686

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N62681

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

FOX Flying Club Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Schaumburg → Dupage

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15FA289

1 person died.

The pilot’s loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined because an examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact abnormalities.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was returning from a short cross-country flight. He radioed the tower controller and reported inbound; however, he stated that he had a problem with the rudder and he wanted to "play" with it a bit. The pilot declined any assistance from the controller. About 1 1/2 minutes later, the airplane disappeared from radar, and the pilot did not respond to radio calls. The wreckage was located about 5 miles northeast of the airport in a vacant field. The airframe and rudder controls were partially fragmented on impact. The examination of the rudder controls and wreckage did not reveal any preimpact abnormities. During the investigation, it was noted that the pilot wore an orthopedic-type shoe with an extended spring-like heel. Due to the fragmentation of the rudder controls, the investigation was unable to determine if an object, such as the pilot's shoe, became wedged under or between the rudder pedals, which could have led the pilot to become distracted. Although diphenhydramine, a potentially impairing medication, was detected during toxicological testing, it could not be determined what effect, if any, this had on the pilot's ability to control the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.