Cessna 172N accident near Elk Creek, Virginia, July 31, 2010
On July 31, 2010 at about 3:12 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N172FL, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Elk Creek, Virginia (None 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot’s continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an off-airport landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2010 · about 3:12 pm local time
- Place
- Elk Creek, Virginia · None · 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 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N172FL · no longer on the register · serial 17269187
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the student pilot/owner, when he initially checked the weather 2 hours before takeoff, his intended route of flight was “cloudy,” but reporting visual meteorological conditions. After the student pilot and his passenger arrived at the airport, the student pilot checked the weather again and decided to fly southeast before proceeding direct to the destination through better weather conditions. After the student pilot took off, he requested flight following and informed an air traffic controller of his intended route of flight. The controller advised the student pilot of possible rain en route, and recommended that he modify his route of flight to proceed direct to his destination. The student pilot accepted the controller’s advice and found the first 45 minutes of flight to be “fine,” but the weather worsened. The student pilot flew into clouds "briefly" twice, but maneuvered the airplane back into visual conditions. He then asked air traffic control for advice, but all the suggestions “yielded no relief.” Shortly thereafter, the student pilot declared an emergency and decided to make an emergency landing to a field. The student pilot “dropped the plane down on the mains as firmly as possible, and [it] bounced and went airborne again.” The airplane traveled down the field, hit the top of a fence and continued up a hill, where it finally came to rest. The airplane incurred substantial damage to the forward section of the fuselage and the right wing root. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The weather reported at an airport about 15 miles east, about the time of the accident, included broken clouds at 500 feet; broken clouds at 900 feet; overcast clouds at 1,400 feet; and light rain. The student pilot reported 170 hours of total flight time.
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
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
- Collision during takeoff/land during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Student pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Below VFR minima › Decision related to condition
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 170 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BCB Blacksburg VA at 2:00 pm
- Destination: VPC Cartersville GA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 3:42 pm from HLX, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
Other NTSB records under N172FL 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.