NTSB DEN05LA037 — 2004-11-16 · Loveland, Colorado, United States

Current FAA registration · N54165

Make / Model: CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture: 1981 · 23 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19810415
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A6DEEB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N54165 Cessna 172P None

Probable cause & findings

the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing and the student pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision making. Contributing factors include the quartering tail wind, the high airspeed, and the airport sign.

Factual narrative

On November 16, 2004, approximately 1245 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172P, N54165, piloted by a student pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted a sign during the landing roll at Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL), Loveland, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The solo instructional flight was being conducted on a visual flight rules flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot reported no injuries. The cross-country flight originated in Colorado Springs, Colorado, approximately 1200 and the pilot had performed a touch and go landing at Jefferson County Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado. According to the accident report submitted by the student, he was landing on runway 33. The student stated that as he touched down, "the nose of the [air]plane was pointed to the right side of the runway" and his airspeed was high. He attempted to correct with rudder; however, the airplane departed the runway to the right, impacted an airport sign and continued across an adjacent taxiway. The left main landing gear collapsed inward, the rear horizontal spar was bent midspan, and two ribs in the left wing had 3 inch lacerations. A postaccident examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies. The FNL aviation routine weather (METAR) reported the winds at the time of the accident as 130 degrees at 8 knots. The student stated that he was landing on runway 33. As he touched down, "the nose of the [air]plane was pointed to the right side of the runway" and his airspeed was high. He attempted to correct with rudder; however, the airplane departed the runway to the right, impacted an airport sign and continued across an adjacent taxiway. The airplane was substantially damaged. A postaccident examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies. The aviation routine weather (METAR) reported the winds at the time of the accident as 130 degrees at 8 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2004_DEN05LA037.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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