Cessna 172P accident near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, October 15, 2022
On October 15, 2022 at about 5:00 am local time, a 1981 Cessna 172P, registered N63663, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi (from runway) near Elizabethtown, Kentucky (Addington Fld airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's decision to continue the taxi without visual reference to the surface, due to his vision being impaired by darkness and glare, which resulted in the airplane’s departure from the paved surface and impact with a ditch. Contributing was the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring of the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2022 · about 5:00 am local time
- Place
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Addington Fld · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P, built 1981 · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N63663 · registry record · serial 17275465
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot and flight instructor were performing a cross-country instrument flight rules training flight at night, and while enroute, diverted from their planned destination to a non-towered airport to refuel. After landing at the diversion airport, the pilot attempted to navigate via taxiways toward the ramp environment. As the taxi progressed toward the ramp, the blue taxiway edge lights ended, and a “significant glare” from the hangar lights directly ahead obscured the pilot’s forward view through the dirty windscreen. Believing that they had entered the ramp area, the pilot turned toward the fueling area, but the airplane then departed the paved surface onto grass and slid into a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact anomalies or malfunctions affecting the airplane’s operation. Had the pilot and flight instructor elected to discontinue taxiing the airplane after losing sight of the ground ahead due to the darkness and glare, it is likely that the accident would not have occurred.
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
- Navigation error during taxi (from runway) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Dark › Effect on personnel
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Glare › Effect on personnel
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring other person › Instructor/check pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 202.8 hours in all; 132.4 in this make and model; 36.3 in the last 90 days; 5.1 in the last 30 days; 168.6 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 19, 2022
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 745.9 hours in all; 185.6 in this make and model; 83.4 in the last 90 days; 32.9 in the last 30 days; 654.9 as pilot in command; 311.4 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,846.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 25, 2022
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 9,764 hours total
- Operator: Tennessee Flyers, Inc
The flight
- Departed from: 2I6 Springfield KY at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,001 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
Weather report (METAR): KEKX 150455Z AUTO 20009KT 10SM CLR 15/02 A2982 RMK AO2 T01480018
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on February 6, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot's Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 7 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.