- Date
- June 23, 1983, 03:40 local (07:40 UTC)
- Place
- Millhaven, GA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N78160Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830623026469A
- Case key
- 5926
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt & his son took off at night to participate in the search for a downed acft. Subsequently, they found the burning wreckage of the downed plane. They saw people moving around the accident scene & made a pass over it by diving with the landing light on. During the dive, light from the landing light was reflected back into their eyes by fog. The plt then climbed to an alt where he could communicate with the UNICOM at allendale, GA. According to the plt's son, they then made a second pass over the downed acft. During the second pass, the acft struck trees & crashed. The plt's son stated that during the second pass, he was unable to see anything when the light was again reflecting back. He also said he was not aware that they were getting so low. A toxicological check of the plt's blood revealed an alcohol level of 0.11%.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N78160
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17257506
- Airframe hours
- 6,355
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Browning Aviation Service Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 2, 1983 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- 88J · Allendale, SC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 23,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 50° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,800 ft unknown
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAV, 60 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.