Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172N Mountain Collision on Kauai (N98763)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On March 20, 2022, at approximately 1457 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Cessna 172N airplane, registration N98763, was destroyed in a collision with a mountain about 13 miles north of Kekaha, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The aircraft was owned and operated by the Civil Air Patrol and was conducting a routine hurricane and tsunami practice flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Both pilots were fatally injured. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying low and close to the mountain in poor weather conditions before hearing a loud crashing noise. A search and rescue helicopter from the Kauai Fire Department later located the fragmented wreckage in steep mountainous terrain and confirmed there were no survivors.