Cessna 172P accident near Pell City, Alabama, October 12, 2003
On October 12, 2003 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N52254, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pell City, Alabama (Saint Clair 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind and his failure to maintain directional control during landing. A factor was the crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2003 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Pell City, Alabama · Saint Clair Airport · 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
- N52254 · no longer on the register · serial 17274462
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot stated that he was making a crosswind touch and go landing on runway 02. During the landing flare, the student pilot removed the crosswind correction, the student pilot lost directional control, the airplane drifted to the left above the runway, and collided with a tree. One wing received structural damage and the firewall was buckled.
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: 41 hours in all; 41 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 10 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,147 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 16, 2003; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PLR Pell City AL at 2:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02, 5,002 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from ANB, 34 miles away
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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.