# Accident 19881021047689A: Cessna 172N, Petaluma, CA, October 21, 1988

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 21, 1988, 20:11 local time
- Place: Petaluma, CA
- Airport: Petaluma Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.2098° N, 122.7599° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.2098&lon=-122.7599&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9372E, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9372E-1989-10-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYC O320H2AD
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 147 total, 8 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX89FA022](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX89FA022) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19881021047689A

## Narrative

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

TOOK OFF FOR NIGHT PRACTICE WITH A LOW CEILING AND FOG IN AREA. LOST CONTROL AND CRASHED IN RAVINE.

## 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 LAX89FA022](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX89FA022), Oct 22, 1988: Cessna 172N (N9372E), Petaluma, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: PILOT USED POOR JUDGEMENT WHEN HE ATTEMPTED V.F.R. FLIGHT DURING INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND THAT HE ENCOUNTERED SPATIAL DISORIENTATION WHEN HE ENTERED INTO THE CLOUDS.

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.