Cessna 172S accident near Price, Utah, June 27, 2011
On June 27, 2011 at about 1:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N674SP, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Price, Utah (Price Carbon County airport). It was an instructional 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's decision to attempt a takeoff at a density altitude outside of the takeoff performance envelope of the aircraft along with using an aircraft flap setting higher than the manufacture's recommended setting for takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 27, 2011 · about 1:40 pm local time · cases in 2011
- Place
- Price, Utah · Price Carbon County · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N674SP · not in the FAA's current or past register files · serial 172S8087
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off for a training flight to a dirt strip approximately 50 miles to the east. Upon landing at the strip the pilot decided to initiate a short/soft field take off down the 3,600-foot-long runway. The pilot reported that he took off with 20 degrees of flaps and was never able to get more than 10 feet off the runway surface area. At the end of the runway the pilot noticed two 3-4 foot high dirt berms. He pulled back on the yoke, missing the first berm, but the airplane settled back down and struck the second one. The resulting impact caused the aircraft to nose over and come to a rest inverted. The airplane's pilot operating handbook (POH) states that soft or rough field takeoffs should be performed with no more than 10 degrees of flaps. Furthermore the airport's density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated to be approximately 10,000 feet, which is 2,000 feet above the maximum altitude listed in the takeoff performance charts in the POH. The pilot reported no mechanical issues with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- Collision during takeoff/land during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action selection › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft structures › Wing structure › Trailing edge flaps › Incorrect use/operation other cases naming the airframe structure
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Temp/humidity/pressure › High density altitude › Effect on operation
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Climb capability › Capability exceeded
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,157 hours in all; 318 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 1,029 as pilot in command; 775 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 15, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 2011; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arrow West Aviation INC
The flight
- Departed from: KPUC Price UT
- Destination: KPUC Price UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 11:40 am from kpuc, 55 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on July 22, 2011. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Record of Conversation - Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | POH Flap Settings | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,686 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 SER 8,559 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Carbon County Rgnl/Buck Davis Field · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Utah 1,440 since 1982 · 263 in the last ten years
- Utah 8,356 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR11CA295.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.