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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1999 · about 10:47 pm local time · cases in 1999
- Place
- Englewood, Colorado · Centennial · cases near this airport · 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
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N62740 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,683 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M 418 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Centennial Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Colorado 2,860 since 1982 · 384 in the last ten years
- Colorado 7,464 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N62740 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DEN99LA159.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.