# Accident 20200303004839A: Cessna 172S, Lincoln, IL, March 3, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 3, 2020, 08:49 local time
- Place: Lincoln, IL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1609° N, 89.4177° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1609&lon=-89.4177&mi=10
- Aircraft: N157SF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N157SF-2022-08-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172S (registry code 2072439, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (registry code 41597, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-l2a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172S
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360-L2A
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20FA110](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20FA110) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200303004839A

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 3, 2020 AT APPROXIMATELY 0846 LOCAL TIME, AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN LOGAN COUNTY, IL, NEAR LINCOLN ILLINOIS. THE AIRCRAFT, N157SF, A CESSNA 172S, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED NEAR THE MEDIAN ON THE SOUTHBOUND LANES OF I-55. ALL THREE PEOPLE ON BOARD SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT N157SF WAS OPERATING FROM THE CENTRAL ILLINOIS REGIONAL AIRPORT AT BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL (KBMI) AIRPORT FOR THE PURPOSE OF EAGLE SPOTTING/COUNTING. A POST-CRASH FIRE CONSUMED MOST OF THE AIRCRAFT, HOWEVER A POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS MADE FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE AIRCRAFT?S DATA PLATE. POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE HUMAN OCCUPANTS WAS MADE FROM AUTOPSY BY THE LOGAN COUNTY CORONER.

## 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 CEN20FA110](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20FA110), Mar 3, 2020: Cessna 172 (N157SF), Lincoln, IL, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during an aerial survey, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low to recover.

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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