WPR13LA062 · Cessna 172S

The noninstrument-rated pilot was conducting a personal interisland flight. According to air traffic control information, shortly after the airplane took off, an air traffic controller observed that the airplane's radar track was not heading toward the pilot's intended destination. He asked the pilot if he still intended to land at his original destination, and the pilot replied that he did. The pilot then reported that he was going to perform a 360-degree turn to track toward his intended destination. However, the airplane's radar track showed that the airplane then made a descending left turn. Subsequently, radio and radar contact with the pilot and airplane, respectively, were lost, and a search and rescue mission was initiated. Parts of the airplane were located, but the pilot and the majority of the airplane were not found. During the flight, the pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Dark (moonless) night conditions prevailed for the flight. Weather information did not reveal the presence of any aviation weather hazards. The data did identify the potential for broken cloud layers below 3,000 ft mean sea level in the area at the time of the accident. Further, weather radar imagery identified light rain showers at ground level. The pilot's intended flightpath likely would have taken the airplane through or very close to the area of light rain; however, it could not be determined how long the pilot might have operated the airplane in these conditions. It is likely that the pilot became spatially disoriented after flying over the ocean during dark night conditions with reduced visibility and subsequently failed to maintain airplane control.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset