Cessna 172N accident near Rialto, California, April 1, 2001
On April 1, 2001 at about 8:23 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N739WE, was destroyed in an accident near Rialto, California (Rialto Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper weather evaluation and lack of total experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 1, 2001 · about 8:23 am local time
- Place
- Rialto, California · Rialto Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N739WE · no longer on the register · serial 17270858
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A flight school Cessna 172N was destroyed during a departure collision with communication wires and terrain at Rialto, California, about 0023 hours. The accident flight was returning to Hawthorne, California. The pilot had obtained a standard weather briefing at 2319, for the return flight. The pilot was advised of airmets for IFR ceiling and visibilities for his route of flight. The airplane had been the subject of an Federal Aviation Administration ALNOT, issued at 2210, for failure to cancel an instrument flight plan with Southern California Tracon from Hawthorne to Rialto, an uncontrolled airport. The pilot had obtained an FAA preflight weather briefing at 1551, for the flight to Rialto. According to the instrument flight plan information, the estimated time of arrival at Rialto had been 1845. Subsequently, the airplane was located at the Rialto airport parking ramp by county sheriff personnel. The ALNOT was canceled at 2240. The operator stated that the pilot and passenger had flown to Rialto to visit with friends and were to return to Hawthorne. The pilot was a flight instructor for the operator and was rated in airplane single engine land and instrument. They reported that he had accrued 650 total flight hours. Radar data was obtained from Southern California Tracon and a plot was generated by a private vendor for Cessna Aircraft Company. It shows the airplane circling back over the airport and heading northwest. The highest altitude before coverage is lost is 1,700 feet mean sea level.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 650 hours in all; 500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: December 6, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,300 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 23, 2001; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Avco Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Security Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: L67 Rialto CA at 8:20 pm
- Destination: HHR Hawthorne CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 4,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 am from ONT, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.