Cessna 172 accident near Air Force Academy, Colorado, August 21, 2025
On August 21, 2025 at about 1:40 pm local time, a 1978 Cessna 172, registered N1401E, was substantially damaged in an accident during prior to flight near Air Force Academy, Colorado (Usaf Academy Davis Airfield). It was a personal 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 student pilot’s failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 21, 2025 · about 1:40 pm local time
- Place
- Air Force Academy, Colorado · Usaf Academy Davis Airfield · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 N, built 1978 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N1401E · registry record · serial 17270986
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot departed on a solo flight, and after takeoff, he saw the airplane’s wheel chocks hanging on the right wing strut. Due to the proximity of the chocks to the wing flaps, a no-flap landing was performed. The airplane landed without further incident. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the underside of the right wing had been struck numerous times by the wheel chocks which resulted in substantial damage to a wing rib. The flight school allowed for the storage of wheel chocks on the wing struts, then relying on the pilot to stow them inside the airplane during the preflight inspection. Following the accident, the flight school manager prohibited this practice and the chocks would be stowed inside the airplane when not in use.
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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Preflight inspection › Student/instructed pilot
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 63 hours in all; 22.8 in this make and model; 29.4 in the last 90 days; 15.5 in the last 30 days; 8.5 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,924 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 24, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 14,924 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KAFF Usaf Academy CO at 1:00 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 34C, 4,501 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.30 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 am from KAFF
Weather report (METAR): KAFF 211355Z AUTO 01004KT 10SM CLR 17/08 A3030 RMK AO2 SLP163 T01650082
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on September 18, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation Manager | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.