Cessna 172 N1401E

Summary

On 21 August 2025 at about 13:40 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N1401E was involved in an accident near Air Force Academy, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 August 2025 at 13:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Air Force Academy, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Usaf Academy Davis Airfield (KAFF)

Coordinates

38.9700, -104.8144

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N1401E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

USAF Academy → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA332

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot departed on a solo flight, and after takeoff, he saw the airplane’s wheel chocks hanging on the right wing strut. Due to the proximity of the chocks to the wing flaps, a no-flap landing was performed. The airplane landed without further incident. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the underside of the right wing had been struck numerous times by the wheel chocks which resulted in substantial damage to a wing rib. The flight school allowed for the storage of wheel chocks on the wing struts, then relying on the pilot to stow them inside the airplane during the preflight inspection. Following the accident, the flight school manager prohibited this practice and the chocks would be stowed inside the airplane when not in use.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.