Cessna 172S accident near Prescott, Arizona, June 8, 2003
On June 8, 2003 at about 9:42 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N519ER, 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; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions and failure to maintain directional control. Also causal was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight in allowing the student to perform a solo flight with a strong, gusting crosswind near the factory demonstrated crosswind component limit. Factors to the accident were the gusty crosswind conditions, and a lack of flight school standards pertaining to student pilot supervised solo flights in challenging weather conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 2003 · about 9:42 pm local time
- Place
- Prescott, Arizona · Ernest A Love Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N519ER · registry record · serial 172S9107
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While practicing touch-and-go landings on his second supervised solo, the student pilot lost control of the airplane and veered off the left side of the runway. He had been compensating for a crosswind estimated by himself and his instructor to be around 10 knots, and from the left side of the runway, 21R. This compensation was accomplished using a forward slip, with the left wing down into the wind and right rudder. In the past his instructor had noted problems with the student's execution of forward slips, and attributes the accident to the student not maintaining adequate wind correction. At the time of the accident, winds at the airport were from 250 degrees at 13, gusting to 18 knots. Measurements from in the hours preceding the accident and hours after the accident show differing angles of crosswind direction but similar speeds and gusts. The airplane's performance charts indicate that a 13-knot crosswind would have been experienced under such conditions, and states that maximum demonstrated crosswind to be 15 knots. The Chief Flight Instructor stated that he would solo a student in a maximum of "7 to 10 knots of crosswind," but only if the student had been performing exceptionally well. The school's curriculum sets no crosswind limits for students on their initial supervised solo flights.
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
- Flight time: 36 hours in all; 36 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 723.7 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 21, 2003; 27.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,558 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
The flight
- Departed from: PRC Prescott AZ at 9:10 pm
- Destination: AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21R, 4,846 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from PRC
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.