Cessna 172N accident near Show Low, Arizona, March 14, 2001
On March 14, 2001, a Cessna 172N, registered N738PP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Show Low, Arizona (Show Low 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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control resulting in an encounter with terrain and a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 14, 2001
- Place
- Show Low, Arizona · Show Low · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N738PP · registry record · serial 17270133
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing roll, the airplane veered off the right side of the runway and nosed over. The student pilot had completed about 12 touch-and-go landings and was performing a short field landing. The winds were right down the runway and about 5 knots. The pilot landed between 60 and 65 knots with full flaps. The touchdown was smooth and he had rolled several hundred feet down the runway when the airplane started to veer to the right. He countered with left rudder and nothing happened. He applied full left rudder and left brake, but the airplane continued to the right and off the runway. The wings and the empennage sustained substantial damage when the airplane nosed over after traveling through a ditch.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 50 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SOW Show Low AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 3,930 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 pm from SOW
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.