Cessna 172S accident near Lake In The Hil, Illinois, July 11, 2001
On July 11, 2001 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N795SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake In The Hil, Illinois (Lake In The Hills 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 misjudging the flare during that landing. Factors were the wrong runway selected by the student pilot, the tailwinds encountered during that landing and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision during that landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 11, 2001 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lake In The Hil, Illinois · Lake In The Hills · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N795SP · registry record · serial 172S8719
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. The pilot was uninjured during the solo instructional flight. The student pilot stated, "As the plane touched down on runway it seemed to land on main wheels but harder that normal and bounced upward at this time[.] I added a little throttle to level plane back for proper landing and then pulled throttle back to idle as plane had smoothed out to flair however the plane touched the runway even a little harder than first bounced and I felt the plane was not safe to land at this time and did another go around. I did not feel or see the prop or tail of plane touch runway surface[.] As I did the proper procedure for go around the plane seemed to fly proper. I then was instructed to use runway 08 for landing because of other traffic on route to 08 on final. I followed this plane in after it had cleared the runway and landed the plane with more of a normal landing. At this time a instructor greeted me upon securing the plane and damage was noted with prop being bent on both ends." The student pilot and instructor pilot stated that there were no "mechanical malfunction failure" with the airplane during the flight. The wind in the area was 080 degrees at 10 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: 35 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 117.8 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 3, 2001; 10.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lyc. IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3CK Lake In The Hil IL
- Destination: IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 3,058 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from DPA, 19 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.