Cessna 172P accident near Grants, New Mexico, August 3, 1999
On August 3, 1999 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N6497K, was destroyed in an accident near Grants, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to fly the aircraft at an altitude sufficient to clear surrounding terrain. Factors were: The pilot's in-flight planning and decision making in proceeding into known adverse weather. Low ceiling, rain, lack of total pilot experience, and lack of total instrument time.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1999 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Grants, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N6497K · no longer on the register · serial 17274203
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While on a cross-country flight from Hawthorne, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the aircraft was proceeding from a fuel stop at Flagstaff, Arizona, to another fuel stop at Double Eagle Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pilot did not file a flight plan but was utilizing flight following. In the vicinity of Winslow, Arizona, the flight was observed by the controller to do a 180 degree turn and descend to an altitude that was below radar coverage capability. No communications or further radar contacts occurred. Two days later, when family members became concerned, an ALNOT was issued. Search efforts failed to find the missing aircraft. Nine days following the disappearance of the aircraft, a state police helicopter, working on another matter, picked up a weak ELT signal. Localization of this signal resulted in the aircraft being found approximately 160 miles east of its last known position. It had collided with the side of a mountain on a westerly heading, while in level flight, at approximately 10,600 feet above sea level. The duration and route of flight from the last radar target to the accident site could not be established. No evidence of structural and/or mechanical malfunction was found during the investigation. The weather in the area along the possible routes of flight, during the time period when the aircraft was in transit, was overcast skies with varying intensity rain and thunderstorms. The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating in single engine land airplanes. He had an instrument rating issued approximately 2 weeks before the accident and had 213 hours of total flight experience, with 3 hours actual instrument time and 32 hours simulated instrument 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 216 hours in all; 216 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 150 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,237 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 16, 1999; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,407 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Robertson Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: FLG Flagstaff AZ at 1:38 am
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.