Cessna 172M accident near Idaho Falls, Idaho, March 17, 2003
On March 17, 2003 at about 5:53 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N64427, was substantially damaged in an accident near Idaho Falls, Idaho (Fanning 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 failure to maintain proper runway alignment (centerline tracking) during a go around maneuver resulting in the aircraft impacting a runway light. Contributing factors were the gusty/crosswind conditions and the light fixture.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 2003 · about 5:53 pm local time
- Place
- Idaho Falls, Idaho · Fanning Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N64427 · registry record · serial 17265219
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had taken off and was practicing touch and go landings on runway 20. The winds at the time and location of the accident were reported as 340 degrees magnetic at 17 knots with gusts to 21 knots. After executing a go around due to the wind conditions, he initiated another approach and encountered the same conditions with greater magnitude. He initiated another go around during which the aircraft drifted right, and as he pitched the nose up, the aircraft's left horizontal stabilizer impacted a runway light.
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: 22 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,243.5 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 9, 2003; 77.3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IDA Idaho Falls ID at 5:40 pm
- Destination: IDA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 9,001 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 17 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.68 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from IDA
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 N64427 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.