Cessna R172K accident near Monticello, Utah, August 4, 2002
On August 4, 2002 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Cessna R172K, registered N758AR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Monticello, Utah (Monticello 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 during landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing factors include the porpoise and subsequent bounced landing and the student 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 4, 2002 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Monticello, Utah · Monticello · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna R172K · all R172Ks on the register
- Registration
- N758AR · registry record · serial R1722946
- 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 on a solo cross-country flight and was conducting a touch-and-go landing at an enroute airport. The approach was "normal with slight turbulence and a quartering headwind." His flare was "straight down the runway, however [he] struck the nose wheel first and started to porpoise." The airplane porpoised several times and struck the edge of the runway hard, collapsing the nose landing gear and buckling the firewall. He maneuvered the airplane back on to the runway and taxied it to the parking area.
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: 31 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 8 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,027 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 26, 2002; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360-KB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CNY Moab UT at 4:25 pm
- Destination: FMN Farmington NM
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 16, 4,817 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.18 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from CNY, 50 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.