Cessna 172P accident near Englewood, Colorado, September 3, 1999
On September 3, 1999 at about 10:47 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N62740, was substantially damaged in an accident near Englewood, Colorado (Centennial 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 pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the flare for landing/touchdown phase of flight. A factor was a ditch off the side of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1999 · about 10:47 pm local time
- Place
- Englewood, Colorado · Centennial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N62740 · registry record · serial 17275331
- 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 conducting a full stop landing at the completion of a solo training flight. He was using a short field approach to landing and his airspeed deteriorated during the flare to one knot above published stall. The aircraft drifted to the left, touched down off the side of the runway, and subsequently nosed over in a ditch.
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: student
- Flight time: 92 hours in all; 92 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 22 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,005 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 18, 1999; 54 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: APA at 9:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35L, 7,003 ft by 77 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from APA, 1 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.
Other NTSB records under N62740 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.