- Date
- February 15, 2025, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Syracuse, NY · On AIrport
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N1178FCessna 172G
- Defining event
- Taxi-to runway: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250215002269A
- Case key
- 199708
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The truck driver’s to see and avoid the airplane, which resulted in a collision.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor and the student pilot had just been cleared to taxi from the ramp to the active runway. According to the instructor, as soon as they began to roll forward, an airport operations truck struck the airplane from the right, which resulted in substantial damage to an engine mount. According to the truck driver, had stopped on the service road, short the ramp. He described that there was a large snowbank on his left that obscured his field of vision. As he drove forward, and passed the snowbank, he impacted the airplane. A review of air traffic control (ATC) communications revealed that the truck driver was clear of the active movement area when the accident occurred and was no longer talking to ATC. The impact occurred about 21 seconds after ATC cleared the airplane to taxi.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1178F
- Reported as
- Cessna 172G
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17254773
- Built
- 1966
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- SYR · Syracuse Hancock Intl
- Equipment
- ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 30, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,257 total · 900 in this make and model · 1,200 as pilot in command · 83 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 17
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 22 total · 22 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.33 inHg
- Observed at
- KSYR
- METAR
- METAR KSYR 151354Z 08008KT 10SM SCT085 BKN110 OVC180 M06/M12 A3033
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 11, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 72.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.