Cessna 177RG accident near Colorado Sprngs, Colorado, September 11, 1996
On September 11, 1996 at about 6:37 pm local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N2797V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Colorado Sprngs, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 improper installation of the propeller governor by company maintenance personnel, resulting in the total loss of oil and engine seizure. Factors were the pilot's misjudgment of altitude and airspeed, causing him to make a forced landing on unsuitable terrain and collide with a tree and motor vehicles.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 11, 1996 · about 6:37 pm local time
- Place
- Colorado Sprngs, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N2797V · no longer on the register · serial 177RG0697
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A factory overhauled engine had been installed in the airplane and the pilot took off on a maintenance test flight. Eleven minutes later, the pilot reported a 'runaway prop.' The engine seized shortly thereafter. The pilot attempted to return to the airport, but was too far away. He selected a soccer field on which to make a forced landing, but misjudged his airspeed and altitude and overshot. The pilot landed on a street and collided with two vehicles. Removal of the propeller governor disclosed maintenance personnel had failed to install one of two required gaskets and a governor pad as required by Textron Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1438, dated July 9, 1987. This allowed engine oil to be depleted.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,200 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command; 700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,387 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 11, 1996; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: COS at 6:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 12 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:28 pm from COS
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.
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.