Probable cause
The pilot's intentional low-level flight and failure to maintain a visual lookout.
NTSB analysis
According to the pilot, his "intention was just to exercise the engine and aircraft for an hour." He flew a circular route and was returning when the airplane collided with two power lines that stretched across the river between two cliffs. He said, "[t]he terrain [was] hilly but desolate and I decided to get a closer look at the animals that were in the Brazos River bottom. Two power lines ran from the top of one cliff to another and were struck. They were on 40 foot power poles and 112 feet above the riverbed. They had a 900 foot span and no markers."
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09CA037 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 26, 2008
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Palo Pinto, Texas
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Serious injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Cessna R172E
- N-number
- N42FG
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.