Cessna 172M accident near San Antonio, Texas, February 16, 1997
On February 16, 1997 at about 6:39 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N80814, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Antonio, Texas (Stinson Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the pilot's lack of recent experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 16, 1997 · about 6:39 pm local time
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · Stinson Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N80814 · no longer on the register · serial 172-66759
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot had not flown for over a year, so he elected to rent an airplane and fly to a nearby airport to practice takeoffs and landings. The pilot reported that while on his fifth approach to a full stop landing on runway 14, 'he found himself high for landing and allowed his airspeed to get too slow after he configured the airplane with full flaps.' According to the pilot: 'a gust of wind flipped the right wing upward, sending the airplane into a diving turn to the left.' The left wing separated from the airframe after the airplane impacted the door of a hangar located on the east side of the runway. The winds at the time of the accident were reported as calm. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunction and stated that he did not hear the sound of the stall warning horn.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 157 hours in all; 58 in this make and model; 67 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,853 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 18, 1996; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAT TX at 5:30 pm
- Destination: SSF
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14, 4,128 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:39 pm from SSF, 13 miles away
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.