Cessna 175 accident near St. George, Utah, January 20, 2002
On January 20, 2002 at about 9:50 pm local time, a Cessna 175, registered N7693M, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. George, Utah (St. George Municipal airport). It was an instructional 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 student pilot's failure to maintain aircraft directional control during take off roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 20, 2002 · about 9:50 pm local time
- Place
- St. George, Utah · St. George Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175 · all 175s on the register
- Registration
- N7693M · registry record · serial 55993
- 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 performing touch-and-go landings on runway 16. The pilot said she had "no right rudder control" when she added power for take off. The airplane veered, departed the left side of the runway, and nosed down in a gravel area between the taxiway and runway. The nose gear separated from the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and outboard left wingtip spar. The student pilot reported 68.4 hours of total flight time in all aircraft, and 13.1 hours in the Cessna 175. The wind at the time of the accident was from 200 degrees at 3 knots.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 68 hours in all; 13 in this make and model; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 22, 2001; 30 hours since
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SGU St. George UT at 9:00 pm
- Destination: SGU St. George UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 6,606 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 10:35 pm from KSGU
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.