- Date
- January 29, 2023, 21:38, time zone not recorded
- Place
- Cleveland, TX · woods
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N621EWCessna 172L
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20230129000729A
- Case key
- 106657
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to attempt the night flight under visual flight rules when instrument meteorological conditions prevailed resulting in the airplane striking trees while on final approach. Contributing to the accident were the unserviceable runway lights at the destination airport.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The instrument-rated pilot was positioning the airplane in preparation for an annual inspection. The flight was conducted under night visual flight rules (VFR); however, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed along the route of flight. The pilot reported that the cloud ceiling at the departure airport was about 700 ft above ground level (agl). The pilot inadvertently flew into clouds while en route and remained in instrument conditions for about 10 minutes. During the final approach the airplane descended below the clouds, but the pilot was unable to locate the airport and “saw only pitch black” with no visual references. The airplane subsequently struck trees shortly before the pilot intended to initiate a go-around. It subsequently came to rest nose down in a wooded area. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) pertaining to the destination airport indicated that the runway lights were unserviceable during the time of the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N621EW
- Reported as
- Cessna 172L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17260545
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 6,520
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 8, 2022 · 84 hours before
- Departed
- T51 · Cypress, TX
- Destination
- 6R3 · Cleveland, TX
- Airport
- 6R3 · Cleveland Municipal, runway 34, 5,001 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 18
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 6, 2022
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 329 total · 304 in this make and model · 219 as pilot in command · 58 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- KCXO, 20 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KCXO 300353Z AUTO 34009KT 4SM BR OVC003 10/10 A3011
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 14.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.