Cessna 172 accident near Glencoe, Minnesota, December 10, 2020
On December 10, 2020, a 2005 Cessna 172, registered N1956V, was involved in an accident during standing (engine(s) operating) near Glencoe, Minnesota (Glencoe 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A bystander’s inadvertent contact with the propeller while the engine was running.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 10, 2020
- Place
- Glencoe, Minnesota · Glencoe Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 S, built 2005 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N1956V · registry record · serial 172S9934
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot made a fuel stop as part of a solo cross-country flight. The pilot’s mother and sister had come out to the airport to visit. After fueling the airplane, his mother and sister returned to their car. The pilot conducted his preflight, started the engine, and was completing the checklist when he “heard and felt a violent thud.” He looked up to see his mother “sprinting towards the car.” The pilot shutdown the airplane. The pilot’s mother had returned to the airplane unexpectedly and was struck by the propeller resulting in a serious injury to her left arm. The airplane exhibited no obvious damage.
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
What happened, in order
- AC/prop/rotor contact w person during standing (engine(s) operating) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Other
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 161 hours in all; 136 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 112 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 3, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,988 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 23, 2020; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 1,025 hours total
- Operator: South Dakota State University
The flight
- Destination: BKX Brookings SD
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 2°F (-17°C), dew point -3°F (-19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from GYL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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 CEN21LA083.