Cessna 172N accident near Nogales, Arizona, December 4, 2003
On December 4, 2003 at about 4:05 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N5216J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nogales, Arizona (Nogales International 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 student pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing and his failure to maintain directional control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 2003 · about 4:05 pm local time
- Place
- Nogales, Arizona · Nogales International · 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
- N5216J · no longer on the register · serial 17273736
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the student pilot's first landing on his first solo flight, the airplane bounced, and he lost directional control during the landing roll. The airplane veered off the runway, impacted trees, and nosed over.
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: 30 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 0 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,576 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 20, 2003; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Tiffin Aviation Services INC
The flight
- Departed from: OLS Nogales AZ at 4:00 pm
- Destination: OSL Nogales AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 7,199 ft by 90 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from OLS
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.
Other NTSB records under N5216J 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.