Cessna 172 accident near Tooele, Utah, January 19, 2000
On January 19, 2000 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 172, registered N6445B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tooele, Utah (Bolinder Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to correct the descent, and his failure to maintain a visual lookout. Factors were the pilot's improper weather evaluation, his lack of recent experience in type of operation, his inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions at night, fog, and rising terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2000 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Tooele, Utah · Bolinder Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N6445B · no longer on the register · serial 29645
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that the purpose of the flight was to make three takeoffs and landings to obtain recent night flying experience. He determined that the weather conditions were suitable for VFR flight. He took off on runway 34 and during the climbout, he encountered fog. He made a 180 degree turn and started a gradual descent. When he was abeam the midfield point, he began to see runway lights. When he was abeam the threshold of the approach end of the runway, he flew out of the fog. The descent continued on the downwind leg and the airplane collided with rising terrain at a point where a turn onto base leg would commence.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 402 hours in all; 336 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,445 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 15, 1999; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TVY at 2:55 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 5,498 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,500 ft; scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 am from SLC, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.