Cessna 172P accident near Wheeling, Illinois, September 26, 2000
On September 26, 2000 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N98629, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois (Palwaukee 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 student pilot's inadequate compensation for the crosswind that resulted in the failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were the crosswind, the ditch, the student's lack of experience, and the poor in-flight planning decision to land on a runway with a direct crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 26, 2000 · about 7:45 pm local time · cases in 2000
- Place
- Wheeling, Illinois · Palwaukee · cases near this 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
- N98629 · registry record · serial 172-76323
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane nosed over following a loss of directional control on landing. The student pilot reported he received a weather briefing from the Kankakee Flight Service Station prior to the cross-country flight. The pilot reported that upon returning to the Palwaukee Airport (his original departure point), he was cleared to land on runway 16 with the winds from 250 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 17 knots. Upon landing, the airplane traveled off the right side of the runway where it contacted a drainage ditch and nosed over. The student pilot's logbook was endorsed for the cross-country flight. The endorsement contained a 7 knots crosswind limitation. Palwaukee Airport has another runway which is oriented 24/06. According to a Cessna 172P Information Manual, the maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the airplane is 15 knots.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 59 hours in all; 57 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,998 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 7, 2000; 53 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,407 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JVL Janesville WI at 7:30 pm
- Destination: PWK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 16, 5,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 154°F (68°C), dew point 115°F (46°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from PWK
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N98629 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,691 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J 96 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Chicago Executive · nearest airport
- Southern Wisconsin Regional · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,072 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI00LA309.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.