# Accident 19790910036839A: Cessna 172, Elkins, WV, September 10, 1979

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 10, 1979, 21:00 local time
- Place: Elkins, WV
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unknown/Not Reported
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.9241° N, 79.8543° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Elkins, WV, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9241&lon=-79.8543&mi=10
- Aircraft: N80979, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N80979-1980-11-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,450 total, 82 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD79FA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD79FA081) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19790910036839A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

EVIDENCE INDICATES PILOT LOST CONTROL OF ACFT AT NIGHT FROM SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. NO GROUND LIGHTS IN AREA.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB IAD79FA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD79FA081), Sep 10, 1979: Cessna 172 (N80979), Elkins, WV, destroyed, 1 fatal

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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