Cessna 172 accident near St Cloud, Minnesota, January 7, 1990
On January 7, 1990 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N97984, was substantially damaged in an accident near St Cloud, Minnesota (St Cloud airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INADEQUATE VISUAL OUTLOOK BY THE PILOT AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CLEARANCE FROM THE LIGHT POLE. THE LOCATION OF THE POLE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 7, 1990 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- St Cloud, Minnesota · St Cloud · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N97984 · registry record · serial 17276244
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AS THE ACFT WAS BEING TAXIED BEHIND OTHER ACFT ON THE PARKING RAMP, THE LEFT WING STRUCK A LIGHT POLE AT THE EDGE OF THE RAMP. THE PLT SAID THAT HE WAS WATCHING THE RIGHT WING FOR CLEARANCE FROM A PARKED ACFT & FAILED TO NOTE THE CLOSENESS OF THE POLE.
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
What happened, in order
- ON GROUND/WATER COLLISION WITH OBJECT during taxi - from landing
Pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land, none, none
- Flight time: 103 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 69 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: class 3
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,407 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-02J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: ANE Blaine MN at 5:00 pm
- Destination: STC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 5,200 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°C, dew point 0°C
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Other NTSB records under N97984 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MKC90LA043.