Cessna R172K N1095V

Summary

On 29 December 2018 at about 15:23 local time, a Cessna R172K registered N1095V was involved in an accident near Chesaning, Michigan, 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

29 December 2018 at 15:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesaning, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

43.1669, -84.1333

Aircraft

Cessna R172K

Registration

N1095V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chesaning → Chesaning

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA050

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a personal flight about 10 minutes before the accident. According to a witness, the pilot was conducting touch-and-go landings at the airport when the engine "cut out" and the airplane went "straight down." Two other witnesses described a steep bank or a sharp turn before the airplane descended at a steep angle and impacted the ground and then a building. The pilot was fatally injured. Ground scars at the accident site and damage to the airplane were consistent with a left-wing-low attitude and the engine operating at high power at the time of impact. The airplane's steep bank and descent at a steep angle were consistent with a loss of control. The examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. Toxicology testing revealed the pilot was using a combination of phenobarbital and phenytoin at the time of the accident. Although these drugs can cause various impairing symptoms, the type of impairment that these drugs cause is unlikely to lead to a sudden loss of control. Both drugs can be used to prevent seizures in patients with epilepsy. Although a seizure or other neurologic event causing sudden incapacitation could have occurred without leaving autopsy evidence, there was not enough available information to indicate that the pilot had an increased risk of such an event. Thus, the investigation could not determine, based on the available information, whether the pilot's loss of airplane control was related to a medical issue.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.