Cessna 172N accident near Farmington, New Mexico, July 27, 2001
On July 27, 2001 at about 1:30 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N181SP, was destroyed in an accident near Farmington, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the powerline while descending for an emergency landing. A contributing factor was the loss of engine power for an undetermined reason.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 27, 2001 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Farmington, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N181SP · registry record · serial 17268171
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was flying 500 feet above the ground when the engine began to "stutter." As the pilot banked right towards a nearby road, he felt a "hard jerk" and heard a "screeching noise." His passenger told him they had struck a power line. The engine regained power, and the pilot decided to proceed to a nearby airport. The airplane was now 100 feet above the ground, and the pilot realized it would not climb. He attempted to make a forced landing but struck trees short of the road on which he intended to land. The airplane then hit the road, skidded, and struck another tree. The impact spun the airplane around, and it came to a halt. About 3.5 gallons of fuel were in the left wing tank and 15.0 gallons were in the right tank.
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: 78 hours in all; 74 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 61 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 11, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FMN Farmington NM at 1:00 am
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from FMN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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 DEN01LA129.