Cessna 172 S accident near Malad City, Idaho, April 23, 2006
On April 23, 2006 at about 4:45 am local time, a Cessna 172 S, registered N679SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Malad City, Idaho (Malad City airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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
The private pilot's improper touchdown point during landing and the certified flight instructors delayed remedial action. Ditches and fences were factors in the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 2006 · about 4:45 am local time
- Place
- Malad City, Idaho · Malad City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 S · all 172 Ss on the register
- Registration
- N679SP · registry record · serial 172S8090
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
In a written statement the private pilot, who was at the controls during the accident, stated that after a high approach the airplane touched down at a point where it was "too late to execute a missed approach, because we had used so much of the runway. We both slammed on the brakes and started skidding off the end of the runway. We went through a barbed wire fence and hit a ditch. Hitting the ditch launched the aircraft over a road. We went through another fence and hit another ditch, flipping the aircraft upside down." The commercial pilot/certified flight instructor reported that the airplane was too high during the approach and just as he was going to instruct the pilot to go-around "...the wheels touched down and the tires started to lockup."
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 244 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,560 hours in all; 580 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
The aircraft
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Center Of Salt Lake
The flight
- Departed from: U42 Salt Lake City UT
- Destination: MLD Malad City ID
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 16
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 SEA06CA081.