FlightFollowerA Stall on Short Final: N734ZK's Fatal Crash at Montgomery-Gibbs
A Cessna 172 practicing landings at a busy San Diego training airport stalled and spun into the ground short of the runway, catching fire so quickly and so completely that rescue crews could not reach the two people aboard.
A Routine Training Environment, Multiple Aircraft in the Pattern
Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport is a busy general-aviation training field, and this flight was part of that ordinary traffic: N734ZK, a 1977 Cessna 172N, was practicing landings — a go-around/landing sequence — with multiple other aircraft operating on the airport's parallel runways at the same time, the normal, managed density of a training airport on a weekday evening.
A Wing Dip, Then a Spin
On approach to Runway 28L, witnesses and recorded ATC communications point to the aircraft's left wing dipping before it stalled and spun into the ground short of the runway. A wing drop immediately before a stall is a classic sign of an incipient spin — one wing stalling before the other, usually because the airplane is too slow, too steeply banked, or both, for the configuration and speed it's in. At low altitude on final approach, there generally isn't room to recover from a fully developed spin before impact.
Fire on Impact
The aircraft caught fire immediately after it came down. The fire was severe enough that rescue crews responding to the crash could not reach the two people aboard. Both were killed.
The Two Occupants
The two people aboard were later identified as Roger Shimizu, 45, and Frederic Hewett, 37.
Investigation Status
The NTSB is investigating. Nothing in the public record yet establishes why the aircraft slowed enough on final approach to stall — whether it was a specific distraction, a misjudged approach amid the multiple aircraft operating in the pattern that evening, or something else. No probable cause has been published.
This reconstruction was researched from official investigation records where they exist, the original air traffic control recording, and contemporary reporting. The aircraft movement, timeline and written account were assembled independently by Flight Follower. Where an investigation is open or no probable cause has been published, the account says so rather than offering one.
Timeline
Accident Facts
- Incident date
- September 7, 2026
- Registration
- N734ZK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N Skyhawk II (1977)
- Location
- Short of Runway 28L, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (MYF), San Diego, California
- Operation
- Part 91 personal, practicing landings amid multiple aircraft operating on parallel runways
- Category
- Fatal accident — apparent aerodynamic stall and spin on approach
- NTSB probable cause
- Not yet published — investigation open at time of writing
- NTSB report
- Preliminary only
- Fatalities
- 2 (both occupants; identified as Roger Shimizu, 45, and Frederic Hewett, 37)
Sources
- KPBS, "Cessna crashes at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, killing 2"
- FOX 5 San Diego, "Investigation begins after fatal Cessna 172 crash in San Diego"
- Fox News, "Fiery San Diego plane crash kills 2"
- Aviation Law Group, "San Diego Montgomery-Gibbs Plane Crash: What the Flight Track Shows"
- Fox5 San Diego and NBC San Diego, victim identification coverage (Roger Shimizu, Frederic Hewett)