Cessna 172P accident near Clewiston, Florida, February 19, 2004
On February 19, 2004 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N124ER, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clewiston, Florida (Clewiston airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's misjudged landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing, a collapse of the nose wheel landing gear, and the airplane nosing over when it encountered a ditch.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 19, 2004 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Clewiston, Florida · Clewiston · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N124ER · registry record · serial 17276531
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was on his first solo cross country flight. He reported that during the landing flare at his destination airport, he thought he was too high, and pushed the control wheel forward to compensate. The airplane's nose wheel subsequently contacted the runway hard, and the nose wheel landing gear collapsed. The airplane slid off the runway, encountered a ditch, and nosed over. The student pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 40 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,356 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 9, 2004
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LNA West Palm Beach FL at 6:30 pm
- Destination: 21S Clewiston FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 5,950 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC04LA028.