# Accident 20121015023569A: Cessna 172R, Simpson, LA, October 15, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 15, 2012, 21:26 local time
- Place: Simpson, LA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.2992° N, 92.8889° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.2992&lon=-92.8889&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2126R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2126R-2013-08-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172R (registry code 2072401, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (registry code 41597, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172R
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 300 total, 200 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN13FA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA012) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121015023569A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 15, 2012 AT APPROXIMATELY 2055 LOCAL TIME, MR. JAMES E. ROBERTS, PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER 438354598, WAS PILOT IN COMMAND OF A CESSNA 172, N2126R AND DEPARTED PINEVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (2LO) ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT TO ORANGE, TX.  A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT WAS PASSING THROUGH THE AREA AT THE TIME.  MR. ROBERTS HELD A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE THAT WAS TECHNICALLY INVALID DUE TO BEING THE OLD PAPER STYLE PILOT CERTIFICATE.  MR. ROBERTS' LAST MEDICAL CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED ON MAY 11, 1998.  UNABLE TO FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF MR. ROBERTS' LAST FLIGHT, HOWEVER, FLIGHT SCHOOL OWNER STATED THAT MR. ROBERTS HAD FLOWN SOME TIME IN SEPTEMBER IN THE CESSNA 172 AND HAD RECEIVED SOME HELICOPTER INSTRUCTION RECENTLY.  UPON DEPARTURE, RADAR TRACKS FROM POLK APPROACH SHOW N2126R FLEW DIRECTLY OVER ALEXANDRIA REGIONAL (AEX) WITHOUT CONTACTING THEIR TOWER AND PROCEEDED ON A MEANDERING COURSE IN A GENERALLY WESTBOUND DIRECTION WITH ALTITUDES VARYING FROM 2000 TO 4000 FEET MSL.  AT APPROXIMATELY 2126 LOCAL TIME, RADAR SHOWS A RAPID RIGHT TURNING DESCENT TO THE CRASH SITE.  AIRSPEEDS WERE IN EXCESS OF 160 KNOTS ACCORDING TO RADAR AND DESCENT FROM 2000 FEET TO IMPACT TOOK APPROXIMATELY 20 SECONDS.  IMPACT AREA SHOWED A STEEP DESCENT OF APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES WITH SIGNIFICANT WRECKAGE DISPERSAL OVER A 300 FOOT SWATH WHICH INDICATES A HIGH RATE OF SPEED.  ALTHOUGH THE AIRCRAFT WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED, NO EVIDENCE COULD BE FOUND OF ANY MECHANICAL ANOMOLIES.  ALL INSPECTIONS APPEARED TO BE CURRENT.  AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTED MISSING THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND WRECKAGE WAS FOUND AT APPROXIMATELY 1500 THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON BY TWO MILITARY UH-60 HELICOPTERS.  CURRENTLY AWAITING TOXICOLOGY REPORTS.  A BOTTLE OF AMBIEN SLEEP AID WAS FOUND IN PILOTS POCKET.  THOUGH THE BODY WAS SEVERLY MUTILATED, MEDICAL EXAMINER NOTED NO ISSUES WITH THE AUTOPSY.  ALL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT PILOT ENCOUNTERED INADVERTENT IMC CONDITIONS RESULTING IN SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, A LOSS OF CONTROL AND STEEP DESCENDING SPIRAL TO IMPACT.

## 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 CEN13FA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA012), Oct 15, 2012: Cessna 172R (N2126R), Simpson, LA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of airplane control while maneuvering between areas of precipitation during a night cross-country flight.

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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