Cessna 175 accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming, August 18, 1997
On August 18, 1997 at about 12:30 pm local time, a Cessna 175, registered N7518M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rock Springs, Wyoming (Rock Springs-Sweetwater 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 delayed landing flare by both student pilot and flight instructor, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student. Factors were the no flap steep approach at low airspeed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1997 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Rock Springs, Wyoming · Rock Springs-Sweetwater · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 175 · all 175s on the register
- Registration
- N7518M · registry record · serial 55818
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was practicing touch and go landings with an instructor. He made a no-flap, steep landing approach at low airspeed. He was slow in flaring the airplane. The instructor took control, but not before the airplane made a hard landing.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,437 hours in all; 29 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 1,310 as pilot in command; 12 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,760 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 6, 1997; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RKS at 12:10 pm
- Destination: RKS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 5,223 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 4,800 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:35 pm from RKS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.