- Date
- December 22, 2021, 13:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Auburn, CA · Came to rest on top of residential roof
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6280FCessna 172N
- Defining event
- Approach-IFR final approach: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20211222020119A
- Case key
- 104450
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 failure to maintain altitude during an instrument approach, which resulted in an impact with power lines.
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 operator reported that the pilot was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan and was on a return flight to an airport after retrieving a company airplane. Radar data revealed that while on the approach path to land, about 3 miles from the destination airport, the airplane descended to 25 ft above the ground and shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted powerlines and came to rest on a rooftop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and empennage. A local law enforcement officer reported that as the pilot was being transported to the hospital, he stated that he was disoriented during the approach. The officer added that the visibility during the time of the accident was less than ¼ of a mile. The operator reported that the pilot did not inform him or the other company pilot flying ahead of him in another airplane of any mechanical malfunctions or failures to the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation prior to or during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6280F
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17273178
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 13,889.6
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360/A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Fox Two, LLC
- Registered owner
- Fox Two, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 8, 2021 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- KPVF · Placerville, CA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KAUN · Auburn Municipal Airport, runway 07, 3,700 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, 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
- 32
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- KAUN, 3 nm away
- METAR
- KAUN 222155Z AUTO 16008KT 10SM SCT027 SCT031 BKN048 12/09 A2995 RMK A01
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 1, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.