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Accidents · NTSB SEA00LA177 · Final report

Cessna 172P accident near Auburn, Washington, September 3, 2000

On September 3, 2000 at about 7:00 am local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N531PC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Auburn, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

Damage to aircraft under unknown circumstances.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
September 3, 2000 · about 7:00 am local time
Place
Auburn, Washington · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
Weather
conditions the NTSB did not record
Aircraft
Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
Registration
N531PC · registry record · serial 17274698
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The owner/operator of the rental aircraft reported that during a routine maintenance inspection, the structure of the aircraft was found damaged. The operator does not know when or by which pilot damaged the aircraft.

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

  • Medical certificate: Unknown
  • Seat: unk

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 2,461 hours
  • Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 25, 2000; 99 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Flight plan: not recorded
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: not reported
  • Sky: not recorded; not recorded
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.

Other NTSB records under N531PC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time

1999-07-03SEA99LA101 · accident near Auburn, WA · substantial damage · serious injuries

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.