# NTSB investigations: Cessna 172K: Loss of control in flight

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 ERA25LA087](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA087.md): Cessna 172K · Southport, NC · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Dec 19, 2024 · N7085G · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation, and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision, which resulted in the subsequent overstress of the airplane during recovery.
- [NTSB WPR14FA302](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14FA302.md): Cessna 172K · Littlefield, AZ · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jul 21, 2014 · N84754 · Destroyed
  > The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control when the airplane encountered high gusting wind while conducting low altitude flight in a narrow canyon, which resulted in an inflight collision with terrain.
- [NTSB WPR14FA078](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14FA078.md): Cessna 172K · Fresno, CA · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Dec 27, 2013 · N251JM · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from trees while on approach, which subsequently led to a loss of airplane control. Also causal was the pilot’s continued operation of the airplane at night with a diagnosed medical condition that degraded…
- [NTSB ERA13FA062](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13FA062.md): Cessna 172K · Savannah, GA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 18, 2012 · N78304 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control while operating in night, instrument meteorological conditions, due to spatial disorientation.
- [NTSB CEN12CA422](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA422.md): Cessna 172K · Greers Ferry, AR · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Jul 4, 2012 · N84279 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain a positive rate of climb while taking off with a high density altitude.
- [NTSB CEN11CA257](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11CA257.md): Cessna 172K · San Antonio, TX · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Apr 1, 2011 · N79286 · Substantial damage
  > The student pilot's inadequate compensation for wind while landing in gusty wind conditions.
- [NTSB ERA11CA181](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA181.md): Cessna 172K · Ocracoke, NC · Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report · Mar 5, 2011 · N84867 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s inadequate flare and failure to regain control of the airplane while attempting to recover from bounced landing.
- [NTSB CEN11LA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA073.md): Cessna 172K · San Antonio, TX · Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Nov 15, 2010 · N7183G · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to land with a tailwind.
- [NTSB LAX08FA256](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08FA256.md): Cessna 172K · Gearhart, OR · Accident · 5 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Aug 4, 2008 · N828CC · Destroyed
  > The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the initial climb after takeoff due to spatial disorientation.

## 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 ('2072430')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e WHERE e.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND e.aircrafts_position = x.position AND e."isDefiningEvent" AND e."tier2Number" = '240'))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/cases?model=2072430

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OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.
