# Accident 19980902022189A: Cessna 172, Salt Lake City, UT, September 2, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 2, 1998, 20:30 local time
- Place: Salt Lake City, UT
- Airport: Salt Lake City Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.6200° N, 111.9807° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.6200&lon=-111.9807&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8232B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8232B-2000-03-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT O300A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 336 total, 330 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA384](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA384) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980902022189A

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 2030 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 172, N8232B, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TRANSMISSION LINES AND IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE ON APPROACH TO SALT LAKE CITY MUNICIPAL 2 AIRPORT, WEST JORDAN, UTAH. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDERTITLE 14 CFR PART 91. FLIGHT ORIGINATION AND DEPARTURE TIME ARE UNKNOWN. THE ON-SCENE INVESTIGATION AND WITNESS CORROBORATION DISCLOSED THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE TOP STATIC LINE OF TRANSMISSION LINES LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO MILES WEST OF THE AIRPORT. THE RIGHT WING AND EMPENNAGE WERE SEVERED. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER DISCLOSED CHATTER MARKS AND LEADING EDGE GOUGES. ALL AIRPLANE COMPONENTS WERE LOCATED AND IDENTIFIED. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED. (.4) A WITNESS RIDING ON HIS DIRT MOTORCYCLE PARALLEL TO THE POWERLINES SAW TWO BRIGHT FLASHES AND HEARD A LOUD BANG FROM BEHIND. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED 50 TO 75 FEET IN FRONT OF HIM.  OTHER WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING A FLASH, HEARING A LOUD NOISE, AND OBSERVING THE AIRPLANE DESCE NDING VERTICALLY TOWARDS THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE HAD STRUCK THE TOP STATIC LINE ON A TRANSMISSION TOWER, SEVERING THE RIGHT WING AND EMPENNAGE.  THE TRANSMISSION TOWER IS ABOUT 100 FEET AGL.  AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERN ALTITUDE IS 800 FEET AGL.  THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, DURING THE HOURS OF DARKNESS, ABOUT 2 MILES WEST OF THE AIRPORT.  THE TRANSMISSION LINES RUN PARALLEL TO THE RUNWAY.                              (-23)HIT POWERLINES ON APPROACH.

## 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 FTW98FA384](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA384), Sep 3, 1998: Cessna 172 (N8232B), West Jordan, UT, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain proper airport traffic pattern altitude. Factors were night lighting conditions and the unseen static line.

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.

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