Cessna 172L accident near Mill Creek, Pennsylvania, August 28, 2000
On August 28, 2000 at about 2:35 am local time, a Cessna 172L, registered N4344Q, was destroyed in an accident near Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper pre-flight planning, and in-flight planning decision to continue visual fight into deteriorating adverse weather conditions. Factors were the night conditions, low clouds and fog.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 28, 2000 · about 2:35 am local time
- Place
- Mill Creek, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172L · all 172Ls on the register
- Registration
- N4344Q · no longer on the register · serial 17260244
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instrument rated pilot departed on a night cross-country flight into deteriorating weather conditions with no flight plan, no weather briefing, and an inoperative transponder. However, a hand-held GPS was reported to be onboard. When the pilot failed to arrive at his destination, a search was initiated. The airplane was found 2 weeks later on the side of a mountain. The airplane had impacted rising terrain and came to rest inverted. No evidence of pre-existing mechanical failure or malfunction was found with either the engine or airframe. Witnesses in the area reported low clouds, fog, and rain near the time of the 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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,071 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 15, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 08C Jenison MI at 10:12 pm
- Destination: 08N Lebanon PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 190° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 am from AOO, 21 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.