Cessna 172 accident near Lyndonville, Vermont, February 9, 2000
On February 9, 2000 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N8328B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lyndonville, Vermont (Caledonia County Airport). It was an instructional flight 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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. A factor in the accident was the ditch that ran parallel to the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 9, 2000 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lyndonville, Vermont · Caledonia County Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N8328B · registry record · serial 17236128
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot completed a 1-hour training flight with his instructor, and then departed on his first solo flight. The student pilot stated that he caused the airplane to veer 20 degrees to the left and depart the runway during the landing. The airplane struck a snowbank and continued into a ditch that ran parallel to the runway. The nose wheel settled into the ditch, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The student pilot reported 18 hours of flight experience, and that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. During the autumn months prior to the accident, the State's Agency of Transportation identified the airport for a re-grading project to eliminate the ditch. The project, completed 7 months after the accident, eliminated the ditch hazard.
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: student
- Flight time: 18 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,758 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 2, 1999; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6B8 at 8:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 3,300 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:51 am from MPV, 34 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.