Five Lost When C172 Impacted Home Near Oregon Coast

In its Preliminary Report on the fatal downing of a Cessna 172K earlier this month in Gearhart, OR, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed no flight plan had been filed for the accident flight, despite the prevalence of instrument meteorogical conditions.

As ANN reported, the rented Skyhawk impacted a vacation home in the small coastal community early in the morning of August 4. Both the pilot and passenger onboard the aircraft were killed, as were three children inside the home. Three more people on the ground were seriously injured.

Early reports of dense, low-hanging fog at the accident site appear confirmed by the NTSB's report. The Board cites information obtained from the Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) located at the Astoria Regional Airport, 8 miles north of the accident flight's origination point of Seaside Municipal Airport.

According to the ASOS, calm winds and a 300-foot overcast layer were reported minutes after the accident, with 2.5 miles visibility in mist below the clouds. Both temperature and dewpoint were 12 degrees Celsius.

"The airplane was destroyed in the accident sequence. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed," the NTSB report states.

The Associated Press identified the Cessna's pilot as Jason Ketcheson, and his passenger as Frank Toohey. According to FAA records obtained online, Ketcheson was an instrument-rated commercial pilot and CFI.

Witness reports not cited in the NTSB Prelim indicate the plane experienced unknown "difficulties" before it collided with a tree, and fell onto the home. The report makes no direct mention of the possibility of carb ice.

The children lost in the impact have been identified as Julia Reimann, 10, of Beaverton, OR, and her cousins -- Hesam Farrar Masoudi, 12, and Grace Masoudi, 8, of Denver.

FMI: Read The NTSB Preliminary Report