# NTSB investigations: Cessna 172S: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB WPR26FA232](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA232.md): Cessna 172 · Willard, UT · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report · Jun 24, 2026 · N387AF · Destroyed
  > On June 23, 2026, at about 2247 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N387AF, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Willard, Utah. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91…
- [NTSB ERA26LA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA143.md): Cessna 172 · Carthage, NC · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Mar 1, 2026 · N972WW · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees while on final approach for landing. Contributing to the accident were the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial actions.
- [NTSB WPR23FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23FA172.md): Cessna 172S · Los Angeles, CA · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Apr 30, 2023 · N575ND · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with the hilly terrain resulting from his loss of situational awareness due to the deteriorating weather conditions as he descended to approach his destination airport.
- [NTSB GAA18CA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA074.md): Cessna 172 · Bowie, MD · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Nov 30, 2017 · N474SP · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain situational awareness during the approach to land. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction by the instrument panel during the approach.
- [NTSB WPR17FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17FA063.md): Cessna 172 · Ramona, CA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Feb 12, 2017 · N2179L · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor's failure to ensure that adequate clearance from terrain was maintained after performance of a simulated engine failure maneuver, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.
- [NTSB ERA15FA046](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15FA046.md): Cessna 172 · Hinton, VA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 8, 2014 · N2152T · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor’s decision to conduct a night training flight in mountainous terrain without conducting or allowing the student to conduct appropriate preflight planning and his lack of situational awareness of the surrounding terrain altitude, which…
- [NTSB ERA14CA124](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14CA124.md): Cessna 172S · Mansfield, MA · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Feb 15, 2014 · N2143X · Substantial damage
  > The student pilot's failure to maintain an adequate approach glide path, which resulted in a collision with a snow bank.
- [NTSB ERA12FA572](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12FA572.md): Cessna 172S · Land O'Lakes, FL · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Sep 22, 2012 · N21750 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s decision to continue the cross-country flight while fatigued, which resulted in him falling asleep during the initial descent for landing.
- [NTSB WPR12FA105](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR12FA105.md): Cessna 172S · North Bend, WA · Accident · 3 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Feb 15, 2012 · N665SP · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's physical impairment due to alcohol, which adversely affected his ability to operate the airplane and to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain while operating in dark night conditions.
- [NTSB ERA09LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA064.md): Cessna 172S · Groton, CT · Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 19, 2008 · N2337F · Substantial damage
  > The student pilot’s failure to maintain a proper descent profile to avoid trees during the night visual approach and the flight instructor’s inadequate oversight.
- [NTSB LAX08FA261](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08FA261.md): Cessna 172S · Incline Village, NV · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Aug 8, 2008 · N15963 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's decision to initiate a flight for which he was neither approved nor qualified and his failure to maintain terrain clearance during the flight. Contributing to the accident were the dark night, the mountainous terrain, and the pilot's medical…

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('2072439', '2072442')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '120' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence?model=2072439

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