Cessna 172N accident near Peyton, Colorado, August 15, 2001
On August 15, 2001 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N733BW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Peyton, Colorado (Meadow Lake airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper go-around procedure and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the pilot's lack of total experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 15, 2001 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Peyton, Colorado · Meadow Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N733BW · no longer on the register · serial 17268177
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was flying in the airport traffic pattern, and was performing a landing to runway 33. He said that the aircraft was blown to the right side of the runway while still airborne. He said he applied power and raised the flaps to begin a go-around. The pilot stated that he intended on raising the flaps in increments, but he brought them up all at once. When he did, he experienced a nose down attitude and impacted on the right side of Runway 33. A flight instructor witness said that he observed the airplane in a nose high attitude just before it fell to the ground. The airplane's POH states that a balked landing is performed with the flaps being raised in increments. The student pilot had accumulated approximately 24 hours of flight experience when the accident occurred.
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: student
- Flight time: 24 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,369.4 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 20, 2001; 77.8 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: 00V Peyton CO at 8:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 6,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 23 knots, gusting 28
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.27 inHg
- Observation at 8:54 pm from COS, 12 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.