Cessna 172P accident near Hallett, Oklahoma, December 2, 1995
On December 2, 1995 at about 7:41 am local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N98003, was destroyed in an accident near Hallett, Oklahoma. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's intentional low altitude flight maneuver. Factors were the static wire and the bright night condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 2, 1995 · about 7:41 am local time
- Place
- Hallett, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N98003 · no longer on the register · serial 17276247
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor, his student, and a passenger departed Stillwater Municipal Airport at 0120 for a night instructional cross country flight. They flew east climbing to 3,500 feet MSL and parallel to the Cimarron Turnpike. The Cimarron Turnpike, elevation 980 feet, is a 4 lane white cement highway with a 10 foot wide grass strip separating the east and westbound lanes. The spacing of the eastbound traffic, at that time of night, was 5 to 8 miles apart and the moon was approximately 85% full. At 0138:20, radar showed the airplane flying a descending box pattern over the turnpike culminating with impacting the 7/16 inch stainless steel static wires which were 64 feet over the turnpike. The airplane impacted on the eastbound lanes and slid east, 3 feet north of the center line and exactly parallel to it for a 162 feet. Moments before the impact, witnesses 'noticed a bright, single light practically directly behind' them. Because no other vehicles arrived at the accident scene for approximately 5 minutes, they believe the bright light they saw was that of the airplane.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,254 hours in all; 173 in this make and model; 82 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1,173 as pilot in command; 888 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,371 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 15, 1995; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SWO Stillwater OK at 7:20 am
- Destination: RVS Tulsa OK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 am from TUL, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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.
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.