Cessna 172M accident near Prescott, Arizona, October 29, 2001
On October 29, 2001 at about 9:23 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N13514, was substantially damaged in an accident near Prescott, Arizona (Ernest A. Love Field). 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 CFI's improper remedial action and failure to maintain directional control during landing in a strong crosswind condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 2001 · about 9:23 pm local time
- Place
- Prescott, Arizona · Ernest A. Love Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N13514 · no longer on the register · serial 17262811
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certified flight instructor was teaching his recently soloed primary student how to perform a crosswind takeoff and landing. To accomplish this, the CFI selected a runway that would expose his student to a near 90-degree left, 8-knot crosswind condition. The airplane touched down on the runway's centerline. However, immediately thereafter it drifted right. The CFI took the controls from his student and applied left aileron and rudder correction to return back to the runway centerline. Even using full flight control inputs, the airplane continued skidding right. Seconds thereafter, directional control was lost and the airplane started a quick left turn toward the left side of the runway. The CFI attempted to redirect the airplane back to the right, but it was "too little too late," and the airplane collided with a sign. The CFI continued the touch-and-go landing and took off. While airborne he evaluated the damage and landed into the wind using runway 12. As the airplane decelerated it veered off the runway and impacted another sign.
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: 1,248 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 234 in the last 90 days; 87 in the last 30 days; 1,185 as pilot in command; 990 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 8, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 47 hours in all; 47 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 15, 2000; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2G (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sky School, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: PRC Prescott AZ at 9:02 pm
- Destination: PRC Prescott AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21R, 4,846 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.25 inHg
- Observation at 9:25 pm from PRC
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.
Other NTSB records under N13514 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.