Cessna 177RG accident near Dalhart, Texas, March 30, 1995
On March 30, 1995 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N35917, was destroyed in an accident near Dalhart, Texas (Dalhart Municipal airport). 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 VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS AND THE ENSUING SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. FACTORS WERE THE PILOT'S SELF-INDUCED PRESSURE TO REACH HIS DESTINATION, HIS FAILURE TO OBTAIN A WEATHER BRIEFING FOR THE FLIGHT, AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 30, 1995 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Dalhart, Texas · Dalhart Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N35917 · no longer on the register · serial 177RG1078
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS EN ROUTE FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO NEW MEXICO WHEN HE STOPPED AT DALHART ON 03/29/95 AND DECIDED TO REMAIN OVERNIGHT AFTER CONVERSING WITH OTHER PILOTS WHO WERE DELAYING THEIR DEPARTURES DUE TO REPORTED ICING CONDITIONS. HE TOLD A WITNESS THAT HE WAS 'WORRIED ABOUT HIS JOB' AND WAS EXPECTED TO REPORT FOR WORK AT MIDNIGHT THAT EVENING. INSTRUMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED THE NEXT MORNING UNTIL ABOUT 1000 WHEN THE VISIBILITY INCREASED TO 15 MILES. THE PILOT DID NOT OBTAIN A WEATHER BRIEFING PRIOR TO DEPARTING ABOUT 1015, ALTHOUGH ANOTHER PILOT ADVISED HIM THAT HE HAD JUST DRIVEN THROUGH SNOW ON HIS WAY INTO TOWN FROM THE WEST. APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT CALLED THE DALHART UNICOM AND REPORTED THAT HE WAS CIRCLING THE VOR BUT COULD NOT FIND THE AIRPORT. AFTER RECEIVING DIRECTIONS FROM THE VOR TO THE AIRPORT, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS HEADED FOR THE AIRPORT. A WITNESS NEAR THE AIRPORT OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE 'APPEAR OUT OF THE SNOWSTORM', MANEUVER BRIEFLY, THEN ENTER 'A SHARP LEFT BANK WITH AN EXTREME NOSE DOWN ANGLE', IMPACT THE GROUND AND 'BURST INTO FLAMES.'
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: 1,250 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 23, 1995
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DHT at 4:15 pm
- Destination: 4AC Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from DHT, 1 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.