Cessna 172M accident near Jeffersonville, Indiana, January 28, 2004
On January 28, 2004 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N70256, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jeffersonville, Indiana (Clark County airport). It was a business 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 selecting a closed runway for landing and the collapse of the nose landing gear. Factors were the pilot's failure to obtain NOTAM information and the snowbank across the closed runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 28, 2004 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Jeffersonville, Indiana · Clark County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N70256 · registry record · serial 17267199
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed on a closed runway and struck a ridge of snow and ice collapsing the nose landing gear. There were no mechanical difficulties with respect to the airplane. The runway had been closed and a Notice to Airmen had been issued.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,447 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 189 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 2,207 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 5, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LOU Louisville KY at 1:45 pm
- Destination: JVY Jeffersonville IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 3,899 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 12°F (-11°C), dew point 7°F (-14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from KLOU, 10 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.