# Accident 20200703014429A: Cessna 172M, Alpine, UT, July 3, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 3, 2020, 07:30 local time
- Place: Alpine, UT
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.4992° N, 111.6581° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4992&lon=-111.6581&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6929H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6929H-2021-03-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172M (registry code 2072418, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172m) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172M
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot, student
- Pilot flight hours: 480 total, 140 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR20LA203](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA203) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200703014429A

## Narrative

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

ON 7/3/2020 AT 0630 MDT AIRCRAFT N6929H A C-172 DEPARTED FROM SOUTH VALLEY REGIONAL AIRPORT (KU42). THE PLANE WAS PILOTED BY A NEWLY CERTIFICATED CFI WHO HAD RENTED THE AIRCRAFT FOR A NON-INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT FROM ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. SEATING CONFIGURATION WAS THE CFI IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT, ONE OF HIS STUDENTS IN THE FRONT LEFT SEAT, THE STUDENT PILOTS AUNT IN THE BACK LEFT SEAT, AND UNCLE IN THE BACK RIGHT SEAT. THE INTENT OF THE FLIGHT WAS FOR SIGHT SEEING PURPOSES WITH DEPARTURE TO THE SOUTH KU42 TO THE NORTHWEST SHORELINE OF UTAH LAKE. THE A CLIMBING TURN DIRECT TO MIDWAY, UTAH. ONCE THERE THE PLANE COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY A 270 TURN PROCEEDED DIRECT ON A COURSE TOWARD KU42. WHILE ON THIS LEG IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NECESSARY FOR THE PILOT TO CLIMB TO GAIN CLEARANCE FOR HIGH ALTITUDE AND RISING TERRAIN. A WITNESS AND HIS SONS HIKING IN THE MOUNTINOUS AREA NOTICED THE PLANE ?WAS NOT MAKING IT OVER THE MOUNTAIN?, STATING THAT THE PLANE MADE A CLOCKWISE TURN POINTING TOWARDS THEM TO THE NORTH EAST. THE WITNESS THEN SAID THE WINGS ROCKED SIDE TO SIDE TWICE FOLLOWED BY THE WINGS DIPPING RIGHT WHILE IN A DECENT. THE WITNESS SAID THE PLANE WAS IN A ?DOWNWARD SPIRAL (NOT A FLAT SPIN)?. THE WITNESS AND HIS SONS WATCHED AS THE PLANE DESCEND BELOW THE TREE LINE AND LINE OF SIGHT. SECONDS LATER THEY HEARD WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS THE PLANE HITTING THE GROUND. THE WITNESS AND SONS HIKED DOWN TO THE CRASH SITE AND DISCOVERED THERE WERE NO SURVIVORS. THE WITNESSES HIKED TO A LOCATION WITH CELL PHONE RECEPTION AND CALLED 911. ACCIDENT SITE PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE SUMMIT COUNTRY SHERIFF?S DEPARTMENT REVEALED THE DEBRIS FIELD TO BE WITHIN 10? OF WHERE THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND. ACCIDENT SCENE EVIDENCE REVELS THAT THE PLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND WITH A WINGS LEVEL, NOSE LEVEL ATTITUDE.

## 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 WPR20LA203](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA203), Jul 3, 2020: Cessna 172 (N6929H), Alpine, UT, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack while maneuvering in a canyon, which resulted in a loss of airplane control.

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.