# Accident 19971113042699A: Cessna 180, Johnson City, TX, November 13, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 13, 1997, 21:25 local time - Place: Johnson City, TX - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Scud Running - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.2704° N, 98.3994° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.2704&lon=-98.3994&mi=10 - Aircraft: N20MF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N20MF-1998-08-31) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 180 (registry code 2072602, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180 - Reported engine: CONT O470A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 1,500 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA067) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971113042699A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. BECAME MISSING ON NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. LOCATED IN REMOTE AREA. POSSIBLE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION SPIRAL DIVE. (.4)THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED TREES WHILE ON A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM BRYAN, TEXAS TO VAN HORN, TEXAS. HOUSTON CENTER'S RADAR ACQUIRED THE AIRCRAFT AS IT DEPARTED THE COULTER AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO THE SOUTHWEST AND THE LAST RADAR HIT WAS IN THE VICINITY OF KITTY HILL AIRPORT, WHICH IS LOCATED ABOUT 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GEORGETOWN. THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED 30 DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT IN A REMOTE RURAL AREA. CENTER'S RADAR TRACKED THE VFR TARGET UNTIL 40 NAUTICAL MILES SHORT OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, ABOUT 7 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF JOHNSON CITY. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND A POSTIMPACT FIRE. THE 62 YEAR OLD NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT DEPARTED ON THE 435 MILE NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT WITH MARGINAL VFR WEATHER CONDITIONS. CEILINGS WERE BETWEEN 1,300 TO 2,100 FEET WITH VISIBILITY UNRESTRICTED AND GREATER THAN 6 MILES. ASTRONOMICAL DATA SHOWED THAT THERE WAS NEARLY A FULL MOON; HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT WAS MOST LIKELY OPERATING UNDER THE CEILING WITHOUT ANY ILLUMINATION FROM THE MOON. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE AND ENGINE DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY PRE-IMPACT STRUCTURAL OR MECHANICAL ANOMALIES. (-23) THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM COULTER AIRPORT, BRYAN, TEXAS, ON NOV. 13, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 2100 HOURS CST. THE CESSNA 180, N20MF, OWNED & OPERATED BY THE PILOT AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS DESTROYED DURING AN INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH THE GROUND NEAR JOHNSON CITY, TEXAS. THE NON-INSTRUMENTED PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT TO VAN HORN, TEXAS. THERE WAS AN INTENSE POST IMPACT FIRE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTED MISSING WHEN IT DID NOT ARRIVE AT VAN HORN. IT WAS DISCOVERED BY DEER HUNTERS ON DEC. 13, 1997. ## 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 FTW98FA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA067), Nov 14, 1997: Cessna 180 (N20MF), Johnson City, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance. Factors were the low ceilings, dark night light conditions, and the pilot's lack of visible horizon in the unpopulated area. ## Other reports on N20MF (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19921107056299I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19921107056299I), Nov 7, 1992: Cessna 180 (N20MF), Van Horn, TX, Minor damage. Landed at abandoned airfield. Left tire blew on rollout. Gravel runway. Ground looped, left wing tip hit ground. 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.