Cessna 172 RG Crash in Leimen, Germany (2000)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On 17 September 2000, a Cessna 172 RG crashed in Leimen, Germany, resulting in the deaths of all four people on board. The aircraft was destroyed, and damage occurred to surrounding farmland and forest. The flight was intended to return from Nuremberg to Essen-Mülheim after a two-day stay. The pilot, accompanied by three passengers, departed Nuremberg at 11:53 local time under visual flight rules (VFR). The route passed between the control zones of Giebelstadt and Niederstetten, north of Mosbach-Lohrbach, and over the NDB Neckar. A GPS device was used for navigation, and its recorded data showed a continuous and accurate flight path to the crash site, located immediately west of the radio beacon. ## Weather and Operational Context Before departure, the pilot contacted the destination by telephone around 10:15 and was informed that the cloud base was approximately 60 m and visibility about 1,200 m, meaning visual meteorological conditions (VMC) were not present. He stated urgent reasons for returning the same day and arranged for the aircraft to be ferried back by a co-owner if weather did not improve. Despite this, he decided to proceed. At Nuremberg, meteorological data were available through the general aviation terminal’s weather information system, and current METARs and TAFs for the route were provided. The pilot did not seek an individual weather briefing by telephone from the responsible advisory office in Munich. ## Accident Sequence and Investigation Findings The aircraft struck treetops in a forest on rising terrain while in cruise configuration and straight flight. It created a path of approximately 160 m in direction 248° and broke apart, with the main wreckage impacting the forest floor. The accident occurred at 12:43. The BFU’s on-site investigation found no indications of technical malfunction in the airframe or engine. Propeller blade deformation and impact marks on trees indicated the engine was running with power. All parts of the destroyed airframe were recovered at the site, with no evidence of in-flight structural failure. Fuel was found in the container of the detached right wing; the left tank was torn open and empty. The fuel selector position could not be determined. Based on flight time since the last refueling, approximately 140 liters of fuel were likely on board. ## Crew, Medical, and Witness Information The pilot held a private pilot license (PPL) with Appendix A since 1978, valid for single-engine piston land aircraft up to 2,000 kg maximum takeoff weight, with aerobatic and night ratings and CVFR authorization, but no IFR rating. He had about 1,300 hours of experience, including about 600 hours in the Cessna 172 RG, and 11 hours in the accident aircraft over the preceding 90 days. The passenger seated to the pilot’s right also held a PPL since 1985 with about 250 hours. Autopsies at the University Hospital Heidelberg found no impairment of the pilot’s fitness to fly; alcohol testing was negative, and death resulted directly from the accident. Hand injury patterns indicated the pilot was controlling the aircraft in the final phase. ## Weather Conditions and Assessment At the time, the route was on the western edge of a trough extending from the North Sea to Eastern Europe, with lifting processes causing light rain or drizzle, sometimes shower-like. Westerly winds brought haze and low cloud in places. With stratus fragments, visibility in the accident area was likely below 1 km. Cloud bases between 900 and 1,400 ft suggest the crash site at 1,100 ft was at least temporarily in cloud. Ground visibility in lower altitudes under multilayered cloud was 3–6 km. QNH was 1,011 hPa, with temperatures of 12–13 °C and a dew point spread of 1 °C. ## Conclusions The investigation concluded that the accident resulted from a controlled collision with terrain during cruise flight because the pilot continued the flight in poor visibility at low cruise altitude and entered cloud. The required VFR minima were no longer met on the final part of the route, and the decision to turn back was long overdue. The report notes that while GPS navigation can reduce the risk of disorientation in reduced visibility, it also carries the latent danger that a VFR flight may not be terminated in time.