- Date
- September 23, 1986, 06:00 local (10:00 UTC)
- Place
- East Tawas, MI
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N78715Cessna 172K
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 10, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860923046209A
- Case key
- 13276
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
Aircraft collided with trees while in low level flight following a predawn departure. An airport 10 miles to the north was reporting very low ceilings with visibilities lower than 1/2 mile in fog and drizzle. The proximity to the departure airport and the aircraft's heading on impact suggest that the pilot may have been trying to maintain visual contact with the ground while returning to land at the departure airport. The plt logs of the plts were not recovered and no flt time information was available.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N78715
- Reported as
- Cessna 172K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17257728
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Don W. Jones
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 6D9 · East Tawas, MI
- Destination
- DET · Detroit, MI
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 50° at 1 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OSC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.