Cessna 172M accident near Colorado Spring, Colorado, March 25, 1990
On March 25, 1990 at about 2:22 am local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N19948, was substantially damaged in an accident near Colorado Spring, Colorado (City Of CO Springs Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S DECISION TO INITIATE FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER, AND HIS IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISON. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND THE ACCUMULATION OF AIRFRAME ICE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 25, 1990 · about 2:22 am local time
- Place
- Colorado Spring, Colorado · City Of CO Springs Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N19948 · registry record · serial 17260878
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT & HIS WIFE WERE EN ROUTE FROM MT VERNON, OH, TO COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. THEY LANDED AT MCCOOK, NE, FOR FUEL & AN UPDATED WX BRIEFING. THE PLT WAS TOLD MVFR EXISTED AT THE DESTN, BUT IT WAS FORECAST TO CLR AT HIS ETA. HE DEPD MCCOOK WITHOUT A FLT PLAN. HE SAID HE ENCTRD 'ICE IN CLEAR SKIES' & LANDED AT AKRON, CO. AFTER A 1.5 HR WAIT, HE DEPD AKRON AT 1740 MST WITH 27.2 GAL OF FUEL ON BOARD. HE ENCTRD IMC & AIRFRAME ICE NEAR COLORADO SPRINGS & DECLARED AN EMERG. APCH CONTROL VECTORED HIM FOR AN ILS RWY 35 APCH. THE 1ST APCH WAS MISSED DUE TO ICE ON THE WINDSHIELD, BUT THE PLT SAW THE RWY ON THE 2ND APCH. WHEN OVER THE RWY & ABOUT TO FLARE, HE REDUCED POWER. WITH THE EXTRA WEIGHT &LOSS OF LIFT (DUE TO ICE ACCUMULATION), THE ACFT DROPPED & LANDED HARD. THE PLT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED, BUT HAD TAKEN THE WRITTEN INSTRUMENT TEST & WAS READY FOR THE FLT TEST. THE 1920 MST WX WAS IN PART: 200' OVC, 1/4 VIS WITH FOG, WIND FROM 150 DEG AT 6 KTS. MIN RVR FOR THE APCH WAS 2400'.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 324 hours in all; 302 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 283 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,034 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 3, 1990; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AKO Akron CO
- Destination: COS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 11,021 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:20 am from COS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN90LA079.