Cessna 172N N739QE

Summary

On 17 January 1997 at about 19:59 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N739QE was involved in an accident near Steamboat Spgs, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 1997 at 19:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Steamboat Spgs, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.4893, -106.8309

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N739QE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Steamboat Spngs → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA085

Nobody was injured.

Failure of the flight instructor and the dual student to maintain an adequate visual lookout. Factors were the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight, inadequate altitude in which to clear obstacles, and the dual student's lack of familiarity with the geographical area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor had given the private pilot a mountain flying checkout, and they were returning to the airport. The pilot said he had never flown close to the mountains, so the instructor suggested that he fly down a wide canyon that led back to the airport. They descended to 7,200 feet msl and the pilot remarked that they would have to watch for wires. The instructor became preoccupied watching elk and did not see the power lines. He heard a 'loud scraping noise' and felt the airplane decelerate and shudder. The airplane descended into a clump of aspen trees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.