Cessna 172N accident near Fort Collins, Colorado, July 31, 2002
On July 31, 2002 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N5088K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Collins, Colorado (Fort Collins Downtown 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 control and subsequent inadvertent stall/mush into terrain during a soft field take off. Contributing factors include the pilot's lack of experience and the high density altitude conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2002 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Collins, Colorado · Fort Collins Downtown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N5088K · registry record · serial 17273959
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had just finished practicing several soft field take offs and landings with an instructor and was on his first solo flight of the day. After taxing to the end of runway, he pulled the yoke back all the way, and added full power. Following rotation, the airplane came straight up in a 45-degree incline. At approximately 20 feet in the air, the airplane drifted off to the right of the runway, struck the ground with its left wing tip, bounced up and then it struck the ground a second time. The ground impact collapsed and sheered off the nose landing gear, buckled the firewall, and bent the outboard 4 feet of the right wing spar.
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: 96 hours in all; 96 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 13 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,547.1 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 18, 2002; 27.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3V5 Ft Collins CO at 10:05 pm
- Destination: 3V5
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11, 5,300 ft by 48 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 99°F (37°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 am from KFNL, 8 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.