NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ANC92LA115
Registry · N7ME
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28RT-201T
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A950F4
Registrant of record
AZARY ZOLTAN D
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT ELECTED TO FLY AN IMPROPER ALTITUDE. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE PILOTS ATTEMPT TO FLY VFR INTO IMC CONDITIONS, AND THE OBSCURED WEATHER.
Factual narrative
THE CRASH OCCURRED AT THE 1100 FOOT LEVEL OF A MOUNTAINSIDE WHILE THE AIRPLANE WAS FLYING A COURSE ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO THE MOUNTAIN RANGE. MARGINAL WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED FOR THE AREA. THE PILOT'S 22-YEAR-OLD SON STATED THAT IN THOSE TYPE WEATHER CONDITIONS HIS FATHER WOULD ROUTINELY CLIMB UP INTO THE SOUP. SET A LORAN COURSE FOR HOME, AND SIT BACK AND RELAX. WHEN CLOSE TO HOME HE WOULD DESCEND TO VFR CONDITIONS OVER THE FLAT COASTAL AREA AND LAND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_ANC92LA115.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (vfr into imc, imc). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (JAAER)
The Effect of Experiential Education on Pilots' VFR into IMC Decision-Making
In aviation, safety is always a primary consideration, and this is especially true during a pilot’s flight training to instill that safety mentality.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
VFR Flight Into Instrument Meteorological Conditions
SKYbrary article on VFR-into-IMC encounters — the 178-second outcome study, decision-making pitfalls, pre-flight weather assessment failures.
- NTSB Safety Studies 2023 · Safety study
Risk Factors Associated With Weather-Related General Aviation Accidents
This safety study examines the role of weather in general aviation accidents over the period 2003–2022. The study identifies persistent risk factors — VFR-into-IMC flight, low-visibility takeoffs and …
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2022 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Spatial Disorientation
Safety advisor on the perceptual illusions that cause spatial disorientation: the leans, graveyard spiral, somatogravic and somatogyral illusions, false horizon, and Coriolis.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2022 · Accident case study
Accident Case Study: Time Out
Long-form accident case study reconstructing a fatal VFR-into-IMC GA accident. Examines pilot decision-making during the deteriorating-weather phase, ATC interactions, and the cognitive triggers that …
- NTSB Safety Studies 2020 · Safety study
Risk Factors Associated With Weather-Related General Aviation Accidents (2003–2017)
Examines the leading causes of weather-related general aviation accidents over a 15-year period. Identifies continued-VFR-into-IMC, in-flight icing, and turbulence/wind shear as the dominant risk driv…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗