Cessna 172S accident near Tea, South Dakota, December 24, 2002
On December 24, 2002 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N692SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tea, South Dakota (Great Planes 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 improper flare. The pilot's lack of experience and diverted attention were factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 2002 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tea, South Dakota · Great Planes · 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
- N692SP · registry record · serial 172S8102
- 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 airplane was piloted by a student solo pilot performing a touch and go landing. The pilot stated that he became distracted by an airplane holding short of the landing runway because there was no response to his radio transmissions conveying his intentions to land. The stall warning horn then sounded and the airplane stalled onto the runway. The student pilot had a total flight time of 27.3 hours, of which 5.1 hours was solo flight time.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 27 hours in all; 27 in this make and model; 5 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,240 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 30, 1899; 4.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Y14 Tea SD at 8:50 pm
- Destination: Y14
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 3,650 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from FSD, 8 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.
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 CHI03LA075.