Cessna 172 accident near Chesapeake, Virginia, January 18, 2003
On January 18, 2003 at about 7:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N6312E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chesapeake, Virginia (Hampton Roads Executive airport). It was a personal 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 pilot's failure to adequately remove snow and ice from the airplane's wings prior to takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 2003 · about 7:40 pm local time
- Place
- Chesapeake, Virginia · Hampton Roads Executive · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N6312E · no longer on the register · serial 46412
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot spent 1 1/2 hours prior to the flight brushing snow from the leading edges of the airplane's wings, but had left the remainder of snow pushed back on the wings. On takeoff, when the airplane reached an altitude of 300 feet agl, the airplane's stall horn activated. The pilot lowered the nose of the airplane to prevent a stall, but the stall horn continued to sound. She then executed a 180-degree turn back toward the runway, but was unable to reach it, and landed hard in a field adjacent to the airport. A witness, a Federal Aviation Administration Designated Pilot Examiner, saw the airplane taxiing through the ramp area and recalled that both of the airplane's wings were nearly covered with 4-inch tall chunks of snow and ice. The witness also reported that there was at least a 1/4-inch layer of ice and snow on the wings when she arrived to the scene of the accident. In a written statement, the pilot reported that she, "...failed to adequately remove some snow from the top of the wings." After the accident, the pilot voluntarily sought and received training regarding frost, icing, and snow and its effects on aircraft performance.
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: 1,226 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 147 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command; 300 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 24, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2002; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVG Hampton Roads VA at 7:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 7:20 pm from CPK, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.