Cessna 172N accident near Steamboat Spgs, Colorado, January 17, 1997
On January 17, 1997 at about 7:59 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N739QE, was destroyed in an accident near Steamboat Spgs, Colorado. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the flight instructor and the dual student to maintain an adequate visual lookout. Factors were the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight, inadequate altitude in which to clear obstacles, and the dual student's lack of familiarity with the geographical area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 17, 1997 · about 7:59 pm local time
- Place
- Steamboat Spgs, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N739QE · no longer on the register · serial 17270714
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor had given the private pilot a mountain flying checkout, and they were returning to the airport. The pilot said he had never flown close to the mountains, so the instructor suggested that he fly down a wide canyon that led back to the airport. They descended to 7,200 feet msl and the pilot remarked that they would have to watch for wires. The instructor became preoccupied watching elk and did not see the power lines. He heard a 'loud scraping noise' and felt the airplane decelerate and shudder. The airplane descended into a clump of aspen trees.
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: 10,000 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,588 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 6, 1996; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBS Steamboat Spngs CO at 7:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 14°F (-10°C), dew point 1°F (-17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from HDN, 15 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.