Cessna 172G N6072R

Summary

On 1 November 2002 at about 05:10 local time, a Cessna 172G registered N6072R was involved in an accident near Fort Stockton, Texas, 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

1 November 2002 at 05:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Stockton, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.9156, -102.9161

Aircraft

Cessna 172G

Registration

N6072R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wilcox → New Braunfels

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

FTW03LA030

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's decision to conduct VFR flight into IMC and his failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing factors were the dark night, clouds, fog, and the lack of suitable terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported to the FAA inspector, who traveled to the accident site, that while on a VFR night cross-country flight, above a solid overcast, he became concerned about the fuel status, and elected to descend the airplane through the weather. After breaking out of the overcast, the airplane impacted terrain, coming to rest in an open field. The pilot reported having accumulated approximately 2,500 flight hours, of which about 1,257 were accumulated in military aircraft, about 400 in the accident make and model, with about 30 hours within the preceding 30 days. The weather in the vicinity of the accident was reported as a 600-foot overcast ceiling, with the visibility at one mile in fog, with calm winds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.