Cessna 172 accident near Lakeville, Minnesota, January 31, 2003
On January 31, 2003 at about 11:02 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N670CS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lakeville, Minnesota (Airlake Airport). 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 pilot's inadequate removal of ice and snow during the airplane preflight, and the subsequent loss of control due to the airplane being covered with ice.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 2003 · about 11:02 pm local time
- Place
- Lakeville, Minnesota · Airlake Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N670CS · registry record · serial 172S9098
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a field located on airport property. The airplane was departing when the forced landing was initiated. The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection, and cleaned the snow and ice off the top of the airplane. He reported that the airplane accelerated normally and he climbed to 500 feet. He reported that he saw some geese and he turned to avoid them, but he "did not recall if he hit them." He reported the airplane began to "fall from the sky," and he turned back to the runway, but the airplane started to stall. He landed the airplane in a field next to the runway. A witness, who arrived at the scene of the accident about 35 minutes after the accident, reported the airplane was located about 800 feet to the south of the runway. The witness reported, "There was lots of ice and snow on top of the wings, also the tail section." He reported the "elevators, ailerons, flaps were loaded with ice." He reported that he observed the airplane the next morning during daylight. He reported, "It was obvious that there was heavy ice on the topside of all surfaces of the aircraft and it was sticking solid." A second witness reported that he observed that the leading edges of the wings were clean, but there was a layer of "hard, icy stuff aft of the leading edges." The second witness reported that it had been snowing with freezing drizzle the last couple of days, but that there had been no freezing drizzle the night before he observed the airplane. An inspection of the airplane revealed no preexisting anomalies.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,686 hours in all; 260 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 398 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 19, 2002
- Maximum gross weight: 2,558 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LVN Lakeville MN at 11:00 pm
- Destination: OMA Omaha NE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 30, 4,263 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from LVN
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.
Other NTSB records under N670CS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.