Cessna 172N N5898E

Summary

On 15 February 2003 at about 01:55 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N5898E was involved in an accident near Wellington, Kansas, 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

15 February 2003 at 01:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Wellington, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.1900, -97.3331

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N5898E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oklahoma City → Augusta

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CHI03FA071

1 person died.

Spatial disorientation experienced by the pilot and his subsequent failure to maintain control of the aircraft. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to obtain an updated preflight weather briefing prior to the return flight, his attempted flight into known adverse weather, the lack of lighting (night) and the low ceilings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft was substantially damaged during an in-flight collision with terrain. The pilot encountered instrument meteorological weather conditions during a visual flight rules (VFR) flight and subsequently lost control of the aircraft. Weather conditions in the vicinity of the accident site were reported as 800 feet above ground level (agl) overcast. The pilot obtained VFR flight following enroute. Approximately 43 miles from his intended destination, the pilot reported to the controller, "I'm going to have to drop down . . . I went into cloud cover here [at] three thousand five hundred feet." The controller then notified the pilot that weather conditions in the vicinity of the intended destination were below VFR weather minimums. The pilot elected to divert to an alternate airport 14 miles east of the aircraft's position. This decision was based on an automated report, current at the time but taken nearly an hour earlier, of clear skies. An automated report for the alternate airport, coincidentally taken at the time of the accident, reported 800 feet agl broken. A pilot conducting practice instrument approaches in the area at the time reported conditions as overcast with tops about 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl). He noted that it was clear above the clouds and somewhat hazy. He recalled that there was "not much of a horizon" visible. A motorist driving on the interstate reported seeing the aircraft three times. On the third occasion he stated the aircraft flew across the roadway, perpendicular to it, descending at approximately a 45 degree angle relative to the horizon. He reported the aircraft was traveling at a "high rate of speed". He recalled thinking the aircraft was approaching to land. The motorist recalled the weather conditions as very windy and gusty, with a low overcast. According to the motorist, the cloud bases were "rugged", but visibility below the clouds was good. The pilot obtained a preflight weather briefing approximately four hours prior to initiating the accident flight, however no record of an update briefing was found. The pilot was a non-instrument rated private pilot. He had logged 35.0 hours of night flight time and 3.6 hours of simulated instrument time. No actual instrument flight time was recorded in his logbook. His most recently logged flight was nearly four months earlier. A post-accident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.