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Accidents · NTSB LAX03CA208 · Final report

Cessna 172K accident near Overton, Nevada, June 22, 2003

On June 22, 2003 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172K, registered N7342G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Overton, Nevada (Perkins Field Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were 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 an adequate airspeed and his premature raising of the flaps during a go-around, which led to an inadvertent stall/mush. The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight is also causal.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
June 22, 2003 · about 7:00 pm local time
Place
Overton, Nevada · Perkins Field Airport · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Cessna 172K · all 172Ks on the register
Registration
N7342G · no longer on the register · serial 17259042
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

During an attempted go-around from a simulated emergency landing, the airplane failed to achieve a positive climb rate and descended to ground impact. After full power was added in order to abort the simulated emergency landing at 200 feet agl, the student pitched the nose up and the airspeed began to decay as the airplane began sinking towards the terrain. The flaps, which had been in the full down position, were inadvertently retracted all at once, and a positive climb rate could not be established. The CFI attributed the accident to allowing the airplane to get too low and too slow. In their statements, both pilots agree that the engine responded normally and was generating full power, and that all flight controls functioned properly.

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; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 1,765 hours in all; 365 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 1,690 as pilot in command; 776 on instruments
  • Last flight review: January 25, 2003
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: rgt
  • Injury: no injuries

Dual student

  • Certificate: student
  • Flight time: 26 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: no injuries

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 3,160.9 hours
  • Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 31, 2002
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
  • Operator: Silver Wing Aviation

The flight

  • Departed from: KVGT North Las Vegas NV at 5:45 pm
  • Destination: U08 Overton NV
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 0
  • A second pilot was aboard

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
  • Observation at 5:55 pm from SGU, 48 miles away

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew2
Passengers1

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.