BLUE MOUNTAIN, MS, USA
N3937F
CESSNA 172
THE NON-INST RATED PLT & HIS WIFE LANDED SHORT OF THEIR DEST DUE TO ADVERSE WX DURING DAYLIGHT HRS. HE ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE FLT AFTER DARK IN WORSENING WX IN SPITE OF BEING ADVISED BY A PLT WHO HAD JUST FLOWN THE ROUTE THAT THE WX WAS NOT GOOD & THE WIFE BEGGING HIM NOT TO CONTINUE. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED 2 DAYS LATER WHERE IT HAD CRASHED IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE INTO A SPARSELY POPULATED, RURAL, WOODED AREA. A WITNESS LOCATED ABOUT 9 MILES FROM THE CRASH SITE HAD OBSERVED AN ACFT FLYING AT ABOUT 200 FEET IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CRASH SITE, ALONG HWY 78, AT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PLT HAD LESS THAN 1 HR SIMULATED INSTRUMENT FLT TIME & NONE SINCE HE TOOK HIS PVT FLT TEST ABOUT 18 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.
THE CONTINUATION OF A VFR FLIGHT INTO NIGHT, INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND THE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION OF THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE OVERCONFIDENCE OF THE PILOT.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
Aviation Accidents App
In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports