- Date
- September 12, 1992, 19:10 local (Sep 13, 1992, 02:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lopez, WA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9577ACessna 170A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920913036439A
- Case key
- 41592
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 inadvertent stall/spin. Factors include gusty, unfavorable, high velocity winds, and turbulence.
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
At the time the Cessna 170 arrived over the destination airport, the winds were reported to be strong, gusty, and multidirectional. A number of witnesses reported hearing the aircraft engine overhead, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of the impact with the terrain. The aircraft was found to have impacted the terrain in a near vertical attitude, with impact and crush angles showing the airframe had a rotational moment to the left at the time of impact.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9577A
- Reported as
- Cessna 170A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19397
- Airframe hours
- 4,719
- Engine
- Continental C-145-2, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Konecki, John T
- Registered owner
- Konecki, John T
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 11, 1991 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 0S9 · Port Townsend, WA
- Airport
- S31 · Lopez Airport
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,400 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 230° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.