Cessna 172N accident near Spangle, Washington, November 3, 2000
On November 3, 2000 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N734UW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Spangle, Washington (Spangle Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequately executed remedial action and his failure to ensure that the aircraft touched down at the proper location. Factors include a dark night, an unlighted runway, and trees off the approach end of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 3, 2000 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Spangle, Washington · Spangle Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N734UW · registry record · serial 17269134
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a night approach to an unlighted field, the pilot came in high in order to avoid the trees off the approach end of the runway. After crossing the runway threshold and pulling the power to idle, the pilot realized that he was too high. He therefore elected to slip the aircraft in order to lose altitude. During the slip, the aircraft drifted beyond the side boundary of the runway and touched down in an adjacent plowed field. Although the touchdown was uneventful, soon thereafter the nose gear sank into the soft dirt and the aircraft nosed over. According to the pilot, he did not realize he had allowed the aircraft to drift over the plowed field until after the nose gear started to sink into the terrain.
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: 295 hours in all; 170 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 266 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,747 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 17, 2000; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Felts Field Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: SFF Spokane WA at 2:35 am
- Destination: 03WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,800 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.