Undetermined · NTSB WPR17FAMS2
CESSNA 172M — Open water, HI
| Date | December 31, 2016 |
| Location | Open water, HI |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 172M |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Dusk · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Unknown Unknown or undetermined |
| Pilot age | 26 |
| Pilot total time | 73 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 3 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-(general)-Decision related to condition
What happened
According to a representative from the airplane rental facility, the noninstrument-rated pilot had departed on a cross-country flight. The pilot had received multiple weather reports from Lockheed Martin Flight Services, during which the weather briefer indicated that mountain obscuration and low ceilings existed along the flight route.
Flightpath data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that, shortly after departure, the airplane flew to the northwest, directly into the area that was showing adverse weather conditions. Sometime later, radar data showed that the airplane began a descending right turn from about 2,525 ft mean sea level. The track ended less than 1 minute later over open water about 7 miles northwest of the departure airport. An alert notice was issued after an FAA air traffic control facility lost radar contact with the airplane. A search and rescue effort was initiated; however, the airplane and occupants were not found.