Cessna 172G accident near Dover, Delaware, July 23, 1999
On July 23, 1999 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172G, registered N6017R, was destroyed in an accident near Dover, Delaware (Chandelle Estates 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 failure to execute a go-around. Factors include excessive airspeed on the final approach, and the student pilot's attempt to land beyond a safe touchdown point.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 23, 1999 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Dover, Delaware · Chandelle Estates · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172G · all 172Gs on the register
- Registration
- N6017R · no longer on the register · serial 17253686
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot landed the airplane long and fast, and could not stop it before it went off the end of the runway and into some trees. The pilot was supposed to initiate a go-around once the airplane passed a prescribed mark on the runway, but did not do so.
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: 23 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,231 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 12, 1999; 56 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0N4 at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4, 2,533 ft by 28 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:59 pm from DOV, 4 miles away
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 N6017R 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.