Cessna 170A accident near Casper, Wyoming, May 17, 2002
On May 17, 2002 at about 8:38 am local time, a Cessna 170A, registered N1211D, was destroyed in an accident near Casper, Wyoming. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor contributing to this accident was the fog.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 17, 2002 · about 8:38 am local time
- Place
- Casper, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170A · all 170As on the register
- Registration
- N1211D · registry record · serial 20112
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot, on a flight from Watkins, Colorado, to Thermopolis, Wyoming, diverted and landed at Casper, Wyoming, because of stormy weather along his route of flight. According to the pilot's wife, about 0030 the pilot determined that he would wait at Casper until sunrise, but was going to stop at the Flight Service Station and see what they had to say. About 0400, the pilot's wife received a call from Flight Service asking if the pilot had gotten home and forgot to close his flight plan. She told them that he wasn't there but would check and see if he had landed at the Thermopolis Airport. Flight Service told her that the pilot waited at their office until 0230 when the weather began to clear up. He left after that. At 0600, the pilot's wife contacted Flight Service and informed them that her husband was not at Thermopolis. Search and rescue was initiated. The airplane was found at 0730. It had impacted rolling terrain 15 miles west-northwest of Casper and was destroyed. At 0203, the reported weather at Casper was scattered clouds at 1,100 feet, ceiling 2,000 feet overcast, visibility 10 statute miles, temperature 43 degrees F, dew point 39 degrees F, winds 360 degrees at 6 knots, and an altimeter setting of 30.20 inches of Mercury. Civil Air Patrol personnel and local sheriff's deputies, reported dense fog in the Casper area during the early morning hours. The pilot did not have an instrument rating. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,698 hours in all; 45 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 1,573 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 21, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,587.8 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2002; 46.2 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: CPR Casper WY at 8:28 am
- Destination: THP Thermopolis WY
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; scat at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 8:03 am from CPR, 15 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.