Cessna 172C accident near Kahului, Hawaii, March 8, 1987
On March 8, 1987 at about 3:05 am local time, a Cessna 172C, registered N6353F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kahului, Hawaii. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- March 8, 1987 · about 3:05 am local time
- Place
- Kahului, Hawaii · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172C · all 172Cs on the register
- Registration
- N6353F · no longer on the register · serial 17273198
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES WHILE MANUEVERING IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE PLT HAD PLANNED A LOCAL FLIGHT FROM HONOLULU TO MAUI AND RETURN. ONCE OVER THE ISLAND OF MAUI, THE PLT NOTIFIED THE FSS THAT HE WAS CHANGING HIS ROUTE AND WOULD BE PASSING THROUGH THE ISLAND'S CENTRAL VALLEY FROM N TO S. AFTER TALKING TO THE FSS HE DECIDED TO OVERFLY A 10,000 FT MOUNTAIN TO SHORTEN HIS ROUTE. AS HE APPROACHED THE MOUNTAIN HE REALIZED THE TERRAIN WAS RISING FASTER THAN THE ACFT'S CLIMB. THE PLT TURNED LEFT TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH THE TERRAIN AND THE ACFT LANDING GEAR STRUCK A TREE AT THE 4,500 FT LEVEL. THE ACFT AIRSPEED WAS APRX 55 KTS WHILE IN A 15 TO 20 BANK. THE PLT ELECTED TO LAND IN THE TREES. THE ACFT SYSTEMS WERE EXAMINED AND THE FOLLOWING DEFICIENCIES WERE NOTED; THE NO. 3 LEAD ON THE LEFT HAND MAGNETO WAS CUT, THE CAMSHAFT LOBES WERE EXTREMELY WORN, AND ALL LIFTER FACES EXTREMELY PITTED.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,394 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 49 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 2,337 as pilot in command; 929 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,666 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 3, 1987; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eveland Aero
The flight
- Departed from: HNL Honolulu HI at 1:30 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from OGG, 13 miles away
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.