Cessna 172P accident near Huntsville, Utah, January 8, 2000
On January 8, 2000 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N65710, was substantially damaged in an accident near Huntsville, Utah. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The snow shower, and the lack of suitable terrain for the precautionary landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 8, 2000 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Huntsville, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N65710 · registry record · serial 17275828
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and his student were flying in the mountains when a snow storm was encountered. The instructor decided to make a precautionary landing because flight conditions were deteriorating to IMC. While landing on the icy road, the airplane slid off into a ditch.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 580 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 547 as pilot in command; 184 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,199 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 17, 1999; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 36U Heber City Muni UT at 6:45 pm
- Destination: LGU Logan UT
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,600 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:38 pm from OGD, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.