On April 11, 1996, at about 0824 mountain daylighttime, a privately-owned Cessna 177B collided with terrain after a lossof control following takeoff from runway 30 et the Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne,Wyoming. The pilot in command, pilot trainee, and rear seat passenger (thepilot trainee's father) were fatally injured. The pilot trainee was a7-year-old girl, Jessica Dubroff, who did not hold a pilot certificate.To be eligible for a student pilot certificate, a person must be 16 yearsold, and to be eligible for a private pilot certificate a person must beat least 17 years old. Instrument meteorological conditions existed at thetime and a VFR flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was a continuationof what was described by its promoters as a transcontinental flight "record"attempted by the youngest "pilot" to date (the pilot trainee), was beingoperated under Part 91.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/the-jessica-dubroff-accident