Cessna 172P accident near Monroeville, Alabama, July 7, 2005
On July 7, 2005 at about 3:50 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N98530, was substantially damaged in an accident near Monroeville, Alabama (Monroeville Municipal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control and the subsequent collision with the ground during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 7, 2005 · about 3:50 pm local time
- Place
- Monroeville, Alabama · Monroeville Municipal · 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
- N98530 · registry record · serial 17276307
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Upon arriving at the destination airport, the student pilot established an visual approach to and landed on runway 21. After touch down the airplane's nose wheel began to shimmy violently. Directional control of the airplane was lost and the airplane veered to the left off the runway onto the grass and subsequently colliding with a taxi-way berm. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the nose gear was torn from the airframe, the propeller blades were bent aft, and the engine firewall was damaged. The student pilot did not report any mechanical problem with the airplane during the landing.
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: 20 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Avco Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eglin Air Force Base Aero Club
The flight
- Departed from: CEW Crestview FL at 3:12 pm
- Destination: MVC Monroeville AL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 21, 6,003 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KGZH, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ATL05CA125.