Cessna 172P accident near Sussex, New Jersey, October 4, 2003
On October 4, 2003 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N98145, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sussex, New Jersey. 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 flight instructor's failure to initiate a go-around. A factor was the wet runway conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 4, 2003 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sussex, New Jersey · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N98145 · no longer on the register · serial 17276262
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the approach and landing, the flight instructor was at the controls with the student pilot, and was also talking him through the maneuvers. The airplane touched down about "midfield" on a wet runway. It subsequently hydroplaned, and overran the runway's departure end. The nose landing gear then encountered mud, and the left wing tip and the propeller struck the ground. Before and after the accident, the brakes operated normally. The runway was 3,499 feet long, and had a displaced threshold of 1,100 feet. The flight instructor stated that the winds were calm at the time of the accident; however, winds reported at the airport shortly beforehand indicated a 4-knot tailwind for the runway utilized. The flight instructor also stated that the approach and landing speeds may have been higher than normal.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 850 hours in all; 56 in this make and model; 189 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 795 as pilot in command; 523 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
No details recorded.
The aircraft
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Century Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: CDW Fairfield NJ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,900 ft; scat at 1,400 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.77 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from FWN
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.