Cessna 172S accident near Pinon, New Mexico, December 14, 2005
On December 14, 2005 at about 1:28 am local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N1257Z, was destroyed in an accident near Pinon, New Mexico (Na airport). 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 failure to maintain control of the airplane for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 14, 2005 · about 1:28 am local time
- Place
- Pinon, New Mexico · Na · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N1257Z · no longer on the register · serial 172S9858
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
National Track Analysis Program radar data depicted the airplane in a tight left turn. The last encoded altitude was 11,600 feet msl. When the airplane was located, it was found on a private ranch, in hilly, sparsely vegetated terrain, at an elevation of 5,230 feet msl, approximately 1,154 feet east of the last radar target. The wreckage was scattered approximately 800 feet in a southerly direction. An examination of the airframe, airplane systems, and power plant revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal and correct operations prior to the accident.
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: 197 hours in all; 6 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 187.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 2005; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ELP El Paso TX
- Destination: ROW Roswell NM
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 2:31 am from ALM, 48 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.