The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Accidents · NTSB ERA18WA057 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Cessna 172 accident near Providenciales, Tc, December 24, 2017

On December 24, 2017, a Cessna 172, registered PRRTS, was destroyed in an accident during takeoff near Providenciales. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under non-U.S. private rules. 2 people were killed.

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
December 24, 2017
Place
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Type
Accident
Injuries
2 people were killed.
Weather
not recorded
Aircraft
Cessna 172 S · all 172s on the register
Registration
PRRTS · no longer on the register
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Flight of an unrecorded kind · non-U.S. private rules

The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record

The government of the United Kingdom has notified the NTSB of an accident involving a Cessna 172S airplane that occurred on December 24, 2017, in Turks and Caicos Islands. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the Air Accidents Investigation Branch's investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13.All investigative information will be released by the government of the United Kingdom.

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

  1. Loss of engine power (total) during takeoff defining event

The aircraft

  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Continental Motors CD-155 (piston); 0 hours total
  • Fire on the ground

The flight

  • Departed from: Providenciales

Weather at the time

  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1
Passengers1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.