Cessna 172 accidents

The NTSB database holds 12,209 accidents and incidents involving the Cessna 172, recorded between 1964 to 2026. 1,728 of them were fatal (14%), and 3,521 people died.

The deadliest year was 1978, with 204 deaths.

The phase of flight recorded most often is landing (2,531 records).

Most of these records are from United States, Canada and Mexico.

517 of these records cannot be placed at all, so they appear in the list below but not on the map.

For 5,757 of them the NTSB recorded no coordinates, so their position on the map is approximate.

12,209

Records

1,728

Fatal

3,521

Deaths

14%

Share fatal

1964 to 2026

Period

Show these on the map 11,692 of 12,209 can be placed (5,757 approximate)

By decade

1960s 1,903

1970s 2,892

1980s 2,353

1990s 1,745

2000s 1,500

2010s 1,126

2020s 690

Where these happened

United States 11,825 Canada 28 Mexico 26 Unknown/Not Reported 18 Australia 16 Spain 13

Operators involved

American Flyers 20 Civil Air Patrol, Inc. 18 Embry-Riddle A 16 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 13 Civil Air Patr 12 General Aviati 10

All 12,209 records by number of deaths, then by date

Date	Aircraft	Location	Operator	Outcome	Died
22 May 1977	Cessna 172K N217NY	Flushing, New York, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
25 Mar 1977	Cessna 172M N20441	Inyokern, California, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
5 Mar 1977	Cessna 172M N64522	Englewood, Colorado, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
3 Jan 1977	Cessna 172 N12771	Wiggins, Mississippi, United States approximate position	Griffin Flying	Fatal	1
22 Dec 1976	Cessna 172M N12364	Empire, Nevada, United States approximate position	Reno Maverick	Fatal	1
11 Dec 1976	Cessna 172H N1455F	Houston, Texas, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
20 Nov 1976	Cessna 172M N80778	Conneautville, Pennsylvania, United States approximate position	Erie Airways, I	Fatal	1
2 Oct 1976	Cessna 172M N6945H	Hagerstown, Indiana, United States approximate position	Lazy Days Flyi	Fatal	1
13 Aug 1976	Cessna 172B N8058X	Shelter Cove, California, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
8 Aug 1976	Cessna 172 N12697	Baker, Louisiana, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
6 Jul 1976	Cessna 172 N13485	White Plains, New York, United States approximate position	Bell-Aire Flyi	Fatal	1
3 Jul 1976	Cessna 172 N4319L	St Pauls, North Carolina, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
29 May 1976	Cessna 172M N12227	Corona, California, United States approximate position	Sierra Academy	Fatal	1
27 May 1976	Cessna 172A N7848T	Milledgeville, Georgia, United States approximate position	ZZZ	Fatal	1
19 May 1976	Cessna 172 N56F	Marklesburg, Pennsylvania, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
15 May 1976	Cessna 172E N3658R	Kingman, Arizona, United States approximate position	B.c.flying CLU	Fatal	1
14 May 1976	Cessna 172F N8656U	Jenks, Oklahoma, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
11 May 1976	Cessna 172 N5187A	Dyess, Arkansas, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
29 Apr 1976	Cessna 172M N21496	Kirkland, Texas, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
15 Apr 1976	Cessna 172H N3737R	Winslow, Arizona, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
10 Apr 1976	Cessna 172 N7075T	Sweet Home, Oregon, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
12 Mar 1976	Cessna 172L N4368Q	Accident, Maryland, United States approximate position	Condor Aero CL	Fatal	1
12 Mar 1976	Cessna 172 N5928R	Marksville, Louisiana, United States approximate position	Gene Broadwell	Fatal	1
31 Jan 1976	Cessna 172L N3971Q	Bay City, Michigan, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
16 Jan 1976	Cessna 172L N7579G	White Plains, New York, United States approximate position	Petersons Flyi	Fatal	1
8 Jan 1976	Cessna 172M N50078	Olney Springs, Colorado, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
9 Dec 1975	Cessna 172 N5182R	Missing Aircraft, Unknown/Not Reported not on the map	Skyway Flight	Fatal	1
27 Nov 1975	Cessna 172E N5342T	Corona, California, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
8 Nov 1975	Cessna 172L N3913Q	Key West, Florida, United States approximate position	Island City FL	Fatal	1
25 Oct 1975	Cessna 172M N61895	Beaver, Utah, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
31 Aug 1975	Cessna 172M N13634	Garfield, Colorado, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
17 Aug 1975	Cessna 172M N22234	Stamford, Connecticut, United States approximate position	Astor Aircraft	Fatal	1
1 Aug 1975	Cessna 172M N13272	Dexter, Maine, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
28 Jul 1975	Cessna 172 N8936V	Missing Aircraft, Unknown/Not Reported not on the map	Skytel Aviatio	Fatal	1
28 Jun 1975	Cessna 172A N7686T	Enid, Oklahoma, United States approximate position	Shamrock Flyin	Fatal	1
10 May 1975	Cessna 172L N7059Q	Marathon, Florida, United States approximate position	South Dade AVI	Fatal	1
27 Apr 1975	Cessna 172D N2844U	Tampa Bay, Florida, United States not on the map	Lykins Inc	Fatal	1
16 Feb 1975	Cessna 172F N8466U	Wilmington, Ohio, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
7 Nov 1974	Cessna 172K N84718	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States approximate position	Safe Wings Inc	Fatal	1
25 Oct 1974	Cessna 172 N7300T	Abilene, Kansas, United States approximate position	Hiawatha Flyin	Fatal	1
6 Oct 1974	Cessna 172 N2453U	Kodiak, Alaska, United States approximate position	Kodiak Western	Fatal	1
28 Sep 1974	Cessna 172 N4250F	Anglesea, New Jersey, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
26 Sep 1974	Cessna 172M N4448Q	Encino, California, United States approximate position	Skyroamers Air	Fatal	1
14 Sep 1974	Cessna 172 N7549T	Twinton, Tennessee, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
2 Sep 1974	Cessna 172 N12747	Palmer, Alaska, United States approximate position	Petco Aviation	Fatal	1
31 Aug 1974	Cessna 172 N5114A	Parowan, Utah, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
12 Aug 1974	Cessna 172 N5570R	Novato, California, United States approximate position	-	Fatal	1
11 Aug 1974	Cessna 172F N5533R	Mayview, Illinois, United States approximate position	HUB Flying SER	Fatal	1
7 Aug 1974	Cessna 172D N2804U	Shelbyville, Missouri, United States approximate position	Galesburg Avia	Fatal	1
21 Jul 1974	Cessna 172K N84330	Jaffrey, New Hampshire, United States approximate position	Comerford Flig	Fatal	1