Cessna 172N accident near Montezuma Crk, Utah, September 14, 1998
On September 14, 1998 at about 2:20 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N737NH, was destroyed in an accident near Montezuma Crk, Utah. It was an other work-use 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 attempted aerobatic maneuver and the subsequent inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was his intentional low altitude flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1998 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Montezuma Crk, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N737NH · no longer on the register · serial 17269542
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was on a cross-country pipeline inspection flight which required the pilot to fly at a altitude 100 to 150 feet agl. The airplane was observed to start climbing to near vertical with a left turn and then went over the top, spinning to the ground. One witness reported seeing the airplane many times before, and she had observed it flying 90 degree knife edges and performing vertical pop-up turns. No preimpact engine or airframe anomalies, which might have affected the airplane's performance, were identified.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,984 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 25, 1998; 83 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FMN Farmington NM at 12:50 pm
- Destination: IGM Kingman AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from CEZ, 32 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.