Cessna 172M accident near Kelseyville, California, January 21, 1984
On January 21, 1984 at about 4:30 am local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N5154H, was destroyed in an accident near Kelseyville, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 21, 1984 · about 4:30 am local time
- Place
- Kelseyville, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N5154H · no longer on the register · serial 17265352
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT BECAME DISORIENTED WHILE IN IMC AND COULD NOT LOCATE THE ARPT. THE PLE STATED THAT DUE TO LIGHTS ON THE GROUND HE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS OVER THE PENINSULA, WHICH IS AN AREA OF LOW TERRAIN. HE ATTEMPTED A 180 DEG TURN AFTER DESCENDINGTO 500 FT MSL. THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES NEAR KONOCTI HARBOR, FROM WHICH THE MOUNTAIN RISES ABRUPTLY AND STEEPLY. THE PLT STATED THAT HE WAS MUCH CLOSER TO THE MOUNTAIN THAN HE THOUGHT.
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: 114 hours in all; 114 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 52 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,612 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 23, 1983; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 203 Angwin CA
- Destination: 102 Lakeport CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 330° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 8:30 pm
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.