# Accident 20000105005419A: Cessna 172, St Augustine, FL, January 5, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 5, 2000, 21:46 local time
- Place: St Augustine, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.8960° N, 81.3116° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of St. Augustine, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.8960&lon=-81.3116&mi=10
- Aircraft: N156RA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N156RA-2000-06-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172R (registry code 2072401, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: LYC IO360L2A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 105 total, 10 in this make and model, 82 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00FA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA064) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000105005419A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON JANUARY 5, 2000, AT 2146EST, A CESSNA N156RA, OPERATED BY THE AIRLINE TRAINING ACADEMY, AND PILOTED BY MR. MOHAMED A. CHERIF, CRASHED INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN NEAR ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE PILOT, MR. MOHAMED A. CHERIF, HELD A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE ISSUED ON DECEMBER 31, 1999. THE CERTIFICATE NUMBER IS PENDING. THE SOLO CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE ORLANDO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT. ORLANDO, FLORIDA, ON JANUARY 5, 2000, AT APPROXIMATELY 1915EST.(.4) THE NONINSTRUMENT-RATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS ON A NIGHT SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT AT 2,600 FEET IN RADIO CONTACT WITH JACKSONVILLE APPROACH. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY OBSERVED BY THE CONTROLLER ON RADAR AT 2,000 FEET, HEADING 013 DEGREES, 112 KNOTS AT 0245:24. AT 0245:57, THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED ON RADAR AT 1200 FEET, HEADING 051 DEGREES, AND THE GROUND SPEED HAD INCREASED TO 124 KNOTS. THE PILOT STATED AT 0245:58, 'I HAVEN'T ANY DIRECTION FINDER I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ONE SIX RO.' AT 0246:28, RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. THE PILOT HAD RECORDED AS LOGGED 1 HOUR OF NIGHT PILOT-IN-COMMAND FLIGHT TIME. ALL SIMULATED INSTRUMENT TIME WAS DUAL INSTRUCTION. THE MOON SET AT 2159 WITH ONLY 1 PERCENT ILLUMINATION.

## 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 MIA00FA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA064), Jan 6, 2000: Cessna 172R (N156RA), Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean), destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's lack of total experience in instrument flight, simulated instrument flight, and night flight resulting in the pilot becoming spatially disoriented, and subsequent in-flight collision with…

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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