Cessna 172N accident near Blyn, Washington, January 14, 1995
On January 14, 1995 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N1535E, was destroyed in an accident near Blyn, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE DARK NIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 14, 1995 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- Blyn, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N1535E · registry record · serial 17271039
- 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
THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SEQUIN, WA IN VFR CONDITIONS TOWARDS A CLOUD BANK, AT NIGHT, TURNING SOUTH TOWARDS UPSLOPING TERRAIN. A MODE C RADAR TRACK SHOWED A CLIMB TO 2,600 FT MSL, FOLLOWED BY A DESCENT BACK TO 2,200 FT. THE TRACK SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT PASSING OVER A 2,018-FT HILL, FORESTED WITH 100-FT OR MORE CONIFER TREES, AND THEN EXECUTING A 360 DEG LEFT TURN, ACCOMPLISHED IN 1.5 MIN, WHILE MAINTAINING 2,200 FT. IN THE TURN THE PILOT CALLED APPROACH DECLARING A 'STRUCTURAL PROBLEM.' THE SURVIVOR REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT IN 'TURBULENCE,' IN CONDITIONS THAT WERE 'THICK AND GRAY,' AND THAT THE PILOT WAS 'WORKING HARD TO CONTROL THE AIRCRAFT' APPROX 1 MIN BEFORE THE CRASH. A LEADING EDGE IMPACT ON THE LEFT WING WAS CONSISTENT WITH A WINGS LEVEL, FLAT AIRCRAFT ATTITUDE COLLISION WITH THE 2-IN DIAM CONIFER TREETOP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS 25 LBS OVER THE MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT AT TAKEOFF. THE PILOT'S TOXICOLOGY SAMPLES TESTED POSITIVE FOR TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL CARBOXYLIC ACID (MARIHUANA); 0.003 UG/ML BLOOD, 0.038 UG/ML URINE.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,114 hours in all; 1,684 in this make and model; 570 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,394 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 22, 1994; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Coastal Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: WN41 Sequim WA at 12:27 pm
- Destination: SEA Seattle WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from CLM, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 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.