Cessna 172P accident near Seattle, Washington, April 11, 2000
On April 11, 2000 at about 9:39 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N38GF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Seattle, Washington (King CO Intl-Boeing Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to attain proper alignment with the landing runway, and her failure to maintain proper glide path for the landing runway, resulting in an encounter with vortex turbulence from a preceding heavy aircraft landing on a parallel runway and subsequent loss of aircraft control. Factors included the pilot's lack of total flying experience, and crosswind conditions conducive to a vortex turbulence encounter.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 2000 · about 9:39 pm local time
- Place
- Seattle, Washington · King CO Intl-Boeing Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N38GF · registry record · serial 17275161
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident aircraft was in a right-hand traffic pattern for runway 31R, approaching for a touch-and-go landing just after a Boeing 767 (B-767) landed on parallel runway 31L (the two runways are spaced about 360 feet apart.) The wind was from 290 degrees magnetic at 7 to 12 knots, yielding a cross-runway wind component of approximately 2 to 4 knots in the 31L-to-31R direction during the accident time frame. Three on-duty tower controllers reported that the aircraft overshot final for runway 31R and lined up on the runway 31L final approach course behind the landing B-767, and that the accident aircraft was low on its approach for runway 31R. The airplane subsequently rolled to an extreme bank attitude and crashed, coming to rest in the runway 31L displaced threshold area. The pilot had 173.7 hours total pilot time, including 69.9 hours as pilot-in-command.
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: 174 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 70 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,267 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 21, 2000; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,407 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BFI at 9:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31R, 3,345 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 13,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from BFI
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.