Cessna C172N accident near Arco, Idaho, January 6, 1984
On January 6, 1984 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Cessna C172N, registered N5216E, was destroyed in an accident near Arco, Idaho. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed. 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
- January 6, 1984 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Arco, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C172N
- Registration
- N5216E · registry record · serial 17271775
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO COMPANY PERSONNEL, THE FLT WAS OPERATED AS A CHARTER. THE PLT, ALSO THE COMPANY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO CONDUCT FAR 135 FLIGHTS UNDER INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS. HE WAS REPORTED TO HAVE STATED THAT HE WAS GOING TO 'GET A SPECIAL VFR CLEARANCE AND SEE IF HE COULD MAKE IT UNDERNEATH.' WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING THE ACFT FLYING VERY LOW AND TO DISAPPEAR INTO CLOUDS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,610 hours in all; 9 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 2,401 as pilot in command; 780 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,166 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 26, 1983; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Westcon Associates, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: IDA Idaho Falls ID at 7:11 pm
- Destination: U15 Challis ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.