Cessna 172 N3712F

Summary

On 26 February 2017 at about 03:40 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N3712F was involved in an accident near Panguitch, Utah, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 February 2017 at 03:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Panguitch, Utah, United States

Coordinates

38.0072, -112.4994

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N3712F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Page → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

WPR17FA065

3 people died.

The pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's inadequate preflight weather planning and his poor decision-making.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated private pilot was making a 220-nautical mile (nm) cross-country flight under visual flight rules over mountainous terrain in dark night instrument meteorological conditions. Radar data revealed that the airplane was flying in a northwest direction, proceeding en route between 9,100 ft and 9,900 ft mean sea level (msl). The last radar return, which occurred about 1 hour after takeoff, showed that the airplane was about 80 nm northwest of the departure airport and about 3 nm southeast of the accident site. A short time later the airplane impacted remote, snow-covered, mountainous terrain on a southwest heading at an elevation of 7,350 ft. The changes in heading and altitude between the end of the radar data and the impact suggest that the pilot began maneuvering the airplane after radar contact was lost. A survey of the accident site revealed that the damage to the airplane and the linear debris path was consistent with controlled flight into terrain. All airplane components necessary for flight were accounted for at the accident site. Additionally, a post-accident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Weather surveillance radar revealed an area of snow showers over the accident site, and an infrared satellite image depicted a band of low stratiform clouds over the accident site with tops near 14,000 ft msl. The cloud bases were estimated at 8,700 ft msl.  A meteorological impact statement for the area warned of marginal visual flight rules to instrument flight rules conditions in snow showers. Dark nighttime conditions existed with no illumination of the moon at the time of the accident. The area surrounding the accident site was uninhabited, and there would have been no ground lighting visible to the pilot. It is likely that the airplane encountered instrument meteorological conditions (the band of clouds), and the pilot descended and turned to exit the cloud layer but was unable to establish visual contact with the ground before impacting terrain in the dark nighttime conditions. There was no record of the pilot getting an official weather briefing. If he had gotten a briefing, he would have been told "VFR not recommended" and this may have prevented the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.