# Accident 19971207037409A: Cessna 172N, Upland, CA, December 7, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 7, 1997, 09:45 local time
- Place: Upland, CA
- Airport: Cable Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.2508° N, 117.5399° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2508&lon=-117.5399&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3548E, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3548E-1998-09-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYC O320D2G
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 320 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98FA052](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA052) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971207037409A

## Narrative

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

TOOK OFF INTO FOG SHROUDED MOUNTAIN AREA. CRASHED INTO MOUNTAINSIDE.

## 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 LAX98FA052](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA052), Dec 7, 1997: Cessna 172N (N3548E), Lytle Creek, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the non-instrument rated pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and subsequent loss of aircraft control, due to spatial disorientation. Factors relating to…

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.