# Accident 19961203046439A: Cessna 177, Regan, ND, December 3, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 3, 1996, 16:30 local time
- Place: Regan, ND
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 47.1510° N, 100.5191° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.1510&lon=-100.5191&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30255, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N30255-1998-10-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 177 (registry code 2073704, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-177) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 177
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA036) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961203046439A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT WAS ENROUTE FROM HARVEY, ND TO BISMARCK, ND AT APPROXIMATELY 4,000'. HE WAS ABOVE CLOUD LAYER AND DESCENDED THROUGH HOLE IN CLOUD LAYER. VISIBILITY AND CEILING WENT DOWN AND PILOT DECIDED TO LANE IN OPEN FIELD. AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE TO FORWARD STRUCTURE. NO INJURIES.

## 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 CHI97LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA036), Dec 3, 1996: Cessna 177 (N30255), Regan, ND, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather. Factors were clouds, the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision making, his poor evaluation of the weather, and the encounter with…

## Other reports on N30255 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19971228044519A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971228044519A), Dec 28, 1997: Cessna 177B (N30255), Ft Leonard Wood, MO, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Departed VFR into IMC in heavy snow showers. Lost control. Crashed. Found 4 months later. (.4)the non-instrument rated pilot obtained outlook and abbreviated…

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.
