Cessna 172K accident near Greeley, CO
On July 31, 2002, a Cessna 172K (airplane) was involved in an accident near Greeley, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 31, 2002
- Place
- Greeley, CO
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172K · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.436°N, 104.632°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020808X01333
Official records · DEN02FA084
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 31, 2002, at 1659 mountain daylight time, Cessna 172K, N7383G, was destroyed when it impacted runway 9 approximately 30 seconds after takeoff from Greeley-Weld County Airport, Greeley, Colorado. The flight instructor was seriously injured and the student pilot was fatally injured. Light Plane Rentals of Greeley, Colorado, was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local instructional flight which was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan. The flight instructor said he had flown with the student pilot on two previous occasions, for approximately 3.7 hours. He said that the student had "shown a good feel for the controls and was able to maintain altitude well." The flight instructor said, on the day of the accident, while doing the preflight inspection of the airplane, the student "seemed a bit confused momentarily, having departed from the checklist to borrow the [fuel] strainer, but then he got back in step and completed the remaining items without incident." The flight instructor said that student performed the engine start up and he taxied to the end of the runway with no apparent difficulty. He said the student taxied onto the runway, advanced the throttle, and accelerated down the runway centerline. He said the student rotated the airplane at 60 mph (miles per hour; the correct speed without flaps), and performed a normal climb for 5-10 seconds, and then began to level off at about 50 feet. The flight instructor said the airspeed increased to
Probable cause
the student pilot's improper handling of the airplane's controls (for reason undetermined), and the inadequate supervision of the flight instructor. A contributing factor was the high density altitude weather condition.
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Browse: Colorado · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
