Cessna 172N accident near Sarasota, Florida, December 23, 1986
On December 23, 1986 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N737ZB, was destroyed in an accident near Sarasota, Florida. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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
- December 23, 1986 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Sarasota, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N737ZB · no longer on the register · serial 17269792
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
TWO LDG ATTEMPTS WERE MADE AT THE PHYSICIAN PLT'S PRIVATE ARPT BUT WERE ABANDONED DUE TO STRONG SHIFTING VIOLENT WINDS. THE PLT LATER STATED THE LAST THING HE REMEMBERED WAS SEEING 500 FT ON THE ALTIMETER & TELLING HIMSELF 'TO GET UP & OUT OF THERE' THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A TREE & THE PLT FOUND HIMSELF SITTING ON THE GRND OUTSIDE THE ACFT. THE WX FORECAST CALLED FOR THNDRSTRMS TO BE IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE AFTER SUNSET ACCIDENT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,805 hours in all; 2,366 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Unknown (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,442 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 28, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SPG St Petersburg FL at 10:30 pm
- Destination: 61X Sarasota FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:46 pm from SRQ, 10 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.