# Accident 19791020032489A: Cessna 172, Fall Creek, WI, October 20, 1979

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 20, 1979, 20:05 local time
- Place: Fall Creek, WI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.7640° N, 91.2778° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Fall Creek, WI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7640&lon=-91.2778&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5072R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5072R-1980-02-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 359 total, 301 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI80FA006](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI80FA006) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19791020032489A

## Narrative

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

VFR PILOT OPERATED AIRCRAFT INTO AREA OF HEAVY RAIN & THUNDERSTORMS AT NIGHT. EVIDENCE INDICATES LOSS OF CONTROL.

## 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 CHI80FA006](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI80FA006), Oct 20, 1979: Cessna 172 (N5072R), Fall Creek, WI, destroyed, 2 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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.
