# Accident 20210829017899A: Cessna 172P, Mission Ridge, WA, August 29, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 29, 2021, 17:00 local time
- Place: Mission Ridge, WA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: HUNS
- Location: 47.2878° N, 120.4077° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.2878&lon=-120.4077&mi=10
- Aircraft: N51547, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N51547-2022-12-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 16,500 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR21LA332](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21LA332) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210829017899A

## Narrative

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

PILOT #2 WAS RECEIVING MOUNTAIN TRAINING FROM INSTRUCTOR PILOT (PILOT #1). WHILE FLYING,  USING VISUAL LANDMARKS, BOTH PILOTS BECAME CONFUSED SEEING SIMILAR LOOKING LANDMARKS UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. PILOTS REPORTED THAT SMOKE WAS IN THE VISUAL AREA, BUT DIFFERED ON WHETHER OR NOT THE SMOKE WAS A VISIBILITY DISTRACTION. IIC SUMMARY IS THAT THE SMOKE PROBABLY WAS NOT A FACTOR IN ACCIDENT. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT RECOGNIZED THEY WERE OFF COURSE AND IN THE WRONG CANYON, TOOK CONTROL AND LANDED THE AIRCRAFT IN THE TREES. AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

## 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 WPR21LA332](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21LA332), Aug 29, 2021: Cessna 172P (N51547), Wenatchee, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot’s inadequate inflight navigation and the flight instructors delayed remedial action which resulted in a collision with trees.

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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