Cessna 402C accident near Rawlins, Wyoming, June 2, 1997
On June 2, 1997 at about 4:40 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N1233P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rawlins, Wyoming. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the terrain during the initial climb after a night takeoff. Factors include a dark night and rising terrain off the departure 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
- June 2, 1997 · about 4:40 am local time
- Place
- Rawlins, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N1233P · no longer on the register · serial 402C-0804
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the initial climb after takeoff, while executing a dark-night departure, the pilot failed to maintain clearance from rising terrain about one and one-quarter mile off the end of the runway. Operator records indicated that the pilot had flown out of this airport in the past, and that the aircraft was approximately 600 pounds below maximum certificated gross weight at the time of departure. A teardown inspection of both engines revealed no pre-impact anomalies, and visual and teardown inspections of the propellers showed damage signatures consistent with ground contact in a flat pitch under significant power.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 11,500 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,674 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 13, 1997; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,210 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RWL at 4:40 am
- Destination: RIW Riverton WY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°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.