Cessna 172M accident near Riverside, California, August 24, 2003
On August 24, 2003 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N64291, was substantially damaged in an accident near Riverside, California (Riverside Municipal airport). 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 student pilot's misjudged distance and altitude, and the instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight. Also causal was the instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 2003 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Riverside, California · Riverside Municipal · 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
- N64291 · registry record · serial 17265144
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with terrain during landing. The pilots were practicing a short field landing with the student pilot at the controls. The airplane got low on short final. The CFI recognized that the airplane was too low, took over the airplane controls, and simultaneously added power and raised the nose. The airplane struck a berm that led up to the approach threshold of the runway. The airplane bounced and came to rest on the approach end of runway.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,030 hours in all; 510 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 97 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AJO Corona CA
- Destination: RAL Riverside CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.