Cessna 172M accident near Cahokia, Illinois, July 12, 2006
On July 12, 2006 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N1725V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cahokia, Illinois (St. Louis Downtown 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 flare. A factor was the night light conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 2006 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Cahokia, Illinois · St. Louis Downtown Airport · 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
- N1725V · no longer on the register · serial 17263726
- 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 as a result of a hard landing. The pilot reported that he flew for about one hour and then returned to the airport to do three night stop and go landings. He reported that after the first landing he felt the "landing gear begin to shimmy." He did another stop and go landing. He felt the landing gear start to shimmy again during the rollout so he taxied back to ramp and shut the airplane down. He did a visual inspection of the nose wheel and did not see any damage. An inspection of the airplane revealed that the firewall was buckled and there was a flat spot on the rim of the nose wheel. The fixed base operator reported that maintenance had been performed on the airplane before the flight and no damage was observed to the firewall or the nose wheel.
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
- Flight time: 245 hours in all; 63 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 41 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CPS Cahokia IL at 2:00 am
- Destination: Cahokia IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12R
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.