The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the best-selling airplane ever made, with more than 43,000 delivered since it was created in 1956.

The Cessna 172M that is missing on the Big Island was manufactured in 1974. It is a fixed wing, propeller airplane powered by a single four-cycle engine, according to National Transportation Safety Board records.

The NTSB has tracked 105 fatal crashes involving Cessna 172 aircraft during the past five years. Those crashes resulted in the deaths of 213 people.

The bulk of the crashes happened in the United States and almost all involved "general aviation" or private pilots flying privately owned aircraft.

Only one of those crashes involved a sightseeing flight. It occurred May 30 of this year near Monticello, Utah. A pilot and his only passenger were killed after the airplane crashed into a canyon.