Cessna R172E accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 12, 2003
On June 12, 2003 at about 5:40 pm local time, a Cessna R172E, registered N7867N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque Intl 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 inadvertent encounter with the jet blast and the subsequent inability to maintain aircraft control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 12, 2003 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico · Albuquerque Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna R172E · all R172Es on the register
- Registration
- N7867N · registry record · serial R172-0258
- 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 taxiing towards a taxiway intersection when the airplane began to be pushed left. The student pilot attempted to correct the drift by putting in right aileron, but the airplane continued to the left. The airplane tipped to the left and forward resting momentarily on its left wing tip, bending the wing spar rearward. After the event, the student pilot noticed an MD-80 to his right that had just pushed back from the gate and was beginning its taxi.
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: 35 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 35 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,366 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 29, 2003; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ Albuquerque NM at 5:40 pm
- Destination: SAF Santa Fe NM
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from ABQ
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.