Cessna 172M accident near Mount Sterling, Kentucky, December 9, 2000
On December 9, 2000 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N80854, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mount Sterling, Kentucky (Montgomery County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 2000 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Sterling, Kentucky · Montgomery County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N80854 · no longer on the register · serial 17266773
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was practicing solo takeoffs and landings to Runway 03. During one of the landings, in the flare, the airplane 'ballooned'. The student pilot failed to apply corrective action, and the nose gear struck the runway. The airplane then began to 'porpoise,' and travel off the left side of the runway. The nose gear dug into grass, and the airplane came to rest inverted. The reported winds at the airport, about the time of the accident, were from 090 degrees at 6 knots.
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: 56 hours in all; 32 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 30, 2000; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IOB at 5:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 3, 5,002 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from IOB
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.