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.

6,274 of these records have no coordinates in the source data, so they appear in the list below but not on the map.

12,209

Records

1,728

Fatal

3,521

Deaths

14%

Share fatal

1964 to 2026

Period

Show these on the map 5,935 of 12,209 have coordinates

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
26 Sep 1976	Cessna 172L N7004Q	Beluga Mt, Alaska, United States no coordinates	Pats Flying SE	Fatal	4
6 Sep 1976	Cessna 172M N1382U	N Amityville, New York, United States no coordinates	Linden Flight	Fatal	4
16 Aug 1976	Cessna 172 N3783F	Mandan, North Dakota, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
11 Aug 1976	Cessna 172N N20083	Enumclaw, Washington, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
26 Jun 1976	Cessna 172 CF-QNG	Turo, Massachusetts, United States no coordinates	Richel Air Ltd	Fatal	4
23 Feb 1976	Cessna 172M N61740	Tinley Park, Illinois, United States no coordinates	T and G Aviati	Fatal	4
13 Feb 1976	Cessna 172 N84011	Prescott, Arizona, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
6 Dec 1975	Cessna 172M N13730	Beaver, Utah, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
29 Jul 1975	Cessna 172 N21855	West Chicago, Illinois, United States no coordinates	Bravo Acft Inc	Fatal	4
27 Jun 1975	Cessna 172M N1420V	Tsaile, Arizona, United States no coordinates	Atsidi Aviatio	Fatal	4
26 Jun 1975	Cessna 172 N7086T	Plainview, Texas, United States no coordinates	Miller Flying	Fatal	4
12 Apr 1975	Cessna 172 N7199Q	Banaue, Asia no coordinates	NAS Cubi Point	Fatal	4
23 Feb 1975	Cessna 172K N7250G	Miami, Florida, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
3 Dec 1974	Cessna 172 N20184	S.luis Obsp, California, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
27 Oct 1974	Cessna 172K N7046G	Haleyville, Alabama, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
28 Apr 1974	Cessna 172K N79141	Gold Beach, Oregon, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
8 Apr 1974	Cessna 172F N5594R	Hollister, California, United States no coordinates	Sky View Flyin	Fatal	4
18 Oct 1973	Cessna 172K N46575	Kissimmee, Florida, United States no coordinates	Canavco	Fatal	4
23 Sep 1973	Cessna 172L N7964G	Descanso, California, United States no coordinates	El Cajon Flyin	Fatal	4
4 Jul 1973	Cessna 172F N5526R	No.webster, Indiana, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
12 Jan 1973	Cessna 172 N7606G	San Luis Ob Calif, California, United States no coordinates	Berg-Branham F	Fatal	4
8 Oct 1972	Cessna 172I N35803	Acton, California, United States no coordinates	Pioneer Aviati	Fatal	4
5 Nov 1971	Cessna 172E N3602S	S.buenaventra, Mexico no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
8 Oct 1971	Cessna 172L N7527G	Meyerstown, Pennsylvania, United States no coordinates	C and D Aviati	Fatal	4
8 Oct 1971	Cessna 172 N8832U	Meyerstown, Pennsylvania, United States no coordinates	Bindery Associ	Fatal	4
22 Jun 1971	Cessna 172 N3831S	Missing Aircraft, Unknown/Not Reported no coordinates	Willi Aero, Inc	Fatal	4
21 Jan 1971	Cessna 172C N8482X	Mission, Canada no coordinates	Whatcom Flyers	Fatal	4
31 Jul 1970	Cessna 172K N84845	Westport, Washington, United States no coordinates	Renton Aviatio	Fatal	4
19 Apr 1970	Cessna 172G N4301L	St.johns, Arizona, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
8 Dec 1969	Cessna 172K N84307	Bellville, Texas, United States no coordinates	Aero Tech In	Fatal	4
11 Sep 1969	Cessna 172H N2716L	Lovelock, Nevada, United States no coordinates	Flying Ten Inc	Fatal	4
29 Jun 1969	Cessna 172 N5936R	Charleston, West Virginia, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
18 Oct 1968	Cessna 172 N8656B	Brighton, Michigan, United States no coordinates	Down River Fly	Fatal	4
13 Oct 1968	Cessna 172 N8624B	Platteville, Wisconsin, United States no coordinates	MAD CAP Flying	Fatal	4
7 Oct 1968	Cessna 172 N8225U	Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
6 Oct 1968	Cessna 172D N2428U	Lexington, Missouri, United States no coordinates	ADD Aerial SER	Fatal	4
5 Sep 1968	Cessna 172B N7938X	Niles, California, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
1 Sep 1968	Cessna 172F N5359R	Clewiston, Florida, United States no coordinates	Florida Aerona	Fatal	4
13 Jul 1968	Cessna 172 N46110	Earp, California, United States no coordinates	Mutual Air SER	Fatal	4
9 Jul 1968	Cessna 172H N2854L	Stehekin, Washington, United States no coordinates	Pacific Flyers	Fatal	4
7 Jun 1968	Cessna 172 N4140L	Forrest Homes, California, United States no coordinates	Westside Aero	Fatal	4
24 Mar 1968	Cessna 172 N6069A	Puyallup, Washington, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
4 Feb 1968	Cessna 172G N5801R	Aspen, Colorado, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
5 Nov 1967	Cessna 172 N1754F	Greeley, Colorado, United States no coordinates	Emery Aviation	Fatal	4
1 Sep 1967	Cessna 172H N2697L	Robertstown, Georgia, United States no coordinates	Sherrillaire I	Fatal	4
18 Aug 1967	Cessna 172 N7937B	San Diego, California, United States no coordinates	Aztec Flying C	Fatal	4
19 Dec 1966	Cessna 172 N2347U	Ashtabula, Ohio, United States no coordinates	-	Fatal	4
11 Sep 1966	Cessna 172 N4616L	South Russel, Ohio, United States no coordinates	Horns Flying S	Fatal	4
15 May 1966	Cessna 172 N1388Y	E.syracuse Ny, New York, United States no coordinates	Utica Aircraft	Fatal	4
21 Nov 1965	Cessna 172F N5582R	Chicago Hgts Ill, Illinois, United States no coordinates	Frankfort Avia	Fatal	4