- Date
- November 22, 1991, 21:30 local (Nov 23, 1991, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Marquette, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N96147Cessna 172P
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911122053439A
- Case key
- 15350
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
Flight into known adverse weather conditions by the pilot, which resulted in airframe (wing) icing and the inability to maintain altitude. The adverse weather conditions and darkness were related factors.
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 airline transport pilot departed at night in a four seat airplane with a total of five people. His preflight weather briefing noted IMC along his route of flight associated with a cold front. Flight precautions were issued by the briefer for moderate rime and mixed icing along the entire route of flight. He elected to depart VFR and air-filed an instrument flight plan. He received several inflight weather briefings giving low IFR conditions at his destination and surface temperatures just above freezing. He elected to continue the flight and the airplane began to collect ice. He was unable to maintain altitude due to the ice accretion and ultimately descended into trees and terrain. The airplane was not certificated for flight into icing conditions, and was not fitted with any airfoil/propeller deice or anti-icing equipment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N96147
- Reported as
- Cessna 172P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17276030
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Baldwin Aircraft
- Registered owner
- Baldwin Aircraft
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 30, 1991 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- PWK · Wheeling, IL
- Destination
- MQT · Marquette, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 54
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,686 total · 300 in this make and model · 15,686 as pilot in command · 80 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 10° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAW, 15 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.