Cessna 172RG accident near Pintura, Utah, November 7, 1987
On November 7, 1987 at about 2:51 am local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N9447B, was destroyed in an accident near Pintura, Utah. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 7, 1987 · about 2:51 am local time
- Place
- Pintura, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172RG · all 172RGs on the register
- Registration
- N9447B · no longer on the register · serial 172RG0823
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BFR TAKEOFF, THE PLT WAS BRIEFED ABT LGT TO MOD RIME ICING IN CLDS & PRECIP ABV THE FRZG LVL. THE FRZG LVL WAS FORECAST TO BE AT 7000' TO 9000' IN THE AREA OF PRESCOTT, SLOPING DOWNWARD TO THE NORTH. THE PLT DID NOT FILE A FLT PLAN, BUT DID RCV VFR FLT FLWG AFTER HE WAS EN ROUTE. DRG THE FLT, HE OBTAINED ADNL WX INFO & FINALLY INDICATED HE WOULD PROCEED TO CEDAR CITY. AT ONE POINT, HE ERRED IN RPRTG HIS ALT. LATER, WHEN ASKED BY ATC, HE SAID THE ACFT WAS NOT ACCUMULATING ICE, ALTHOUGH IT WAS A DARK NGT. AT 1962 MST, THE PLT INQUIRED ABT THE DIST TO CEDAR CITY & WAS TOLD IT WAS AT HIS ONE O'CLOCK PSN AT 23 MI. HE ACKNOWLEDGED & THIS WAS HIS LAST KNOWN TRANSMISSION. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST & IT COLLIDED WITH TREES ON WOODED TRRN AT AN ELEV OF ABT 8050'. THE WRECKAGE PATH WAS OVR A 900' AREA. NO PRE-IMPACT MECH PRBLM WAS FND. THE 1950 MST WX AT CEDAR CITY (ELEV 5622') WAS IN PART 1500' SCT, 3000' OVC, VIS 10 MI; BUT IMC WAS RPRTD ABT 15 MI SOUTH. ACFT WAS NOT CERT FOR IFR. PLT RCVD IFR RATING 3 MONS EARLIER; HAD 4.7 HRS ACTUAL WX TIME
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 397 hours in all; 395 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 325 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 508 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 2, 1987; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PRC Prescott AZ at 1:34 am
- Destination: PVU Provo UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 210° at 8 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from CDC, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.