Cessna 172 N1444V

Summary

On 9 November 2020 at about 00:11 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N1444V, operated by Hans R. Hoppe, was involved in an accident near Arch Cape, Oregon, 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

9 November 2020 at 00:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Arch Cape, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.7673, -123.9850

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N1444V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Hans R. Hoppe

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tillamook → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA061

1 person died.

The pilot’s descent into the ocean for reasons that could not be determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness, located on the shoreline, about three quarters of a mile from the accident site, reported that she observed the accident airplane arrive from the south and started to slowly reduce its altitude as it neared her position. The airplane appeared to be in controlled flight in its descent and the engine RPM was consistent with a cruising flight sound. The airplane continued to descend until it struck the water just before Falcon Rock, a large, exposed rock located offshore. A large wave crashed over the airplane, and it disappeared under the water. The wreckage was not located. The pilot is presumed fatally injured and the airplane destroyed. A friend of the pilot reported that the pilot was diagnosed with a terminal illness and added that the pilot did not want to be in a hospital or a care facility and preferred to die in his house or his airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.