Cessna (Textron Aviation) · Single-engine piston plane
Cessna 177 Cardinal
Is the Cessna 177 Cardinal safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 23 small planes we rate, with 23 fatal accidents counted in about 2.6 million US flights since 2008.
Likely range 40 to 52
How the score is built
- Fatal accidents
- 23 in 2.6 million flights
8.9 fatal accidents per million flights. Counted: all civil flights in the United States since 2008 (private, training, charter and other), accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: accidents outside the United States or before 2008, military, test and illegal flights, sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 18.9
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 2.6 million
Estimated flights of all kinds in the United States since 2008. Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston singles in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 2,071 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.80, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 0.88 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 76 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Single-engine piston plane
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of the other types of their generation: 5.6 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 216 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 90%.
- Likely range
- 40 to 52
The score is 90% likely to lie in this range, given how few accidents a type has and the error in the estimate of its flights.
- Last fatal accident
- 17 June 2026
Private, Morrison, TN, United States of America: 2 of 2 people on board died.
- Aircraft destroyed
- 9
Aircraft the NTSB coded as destroyed in an accident in the United States since 2008, fatal or not, from all causes. The NTSB codes many wrecks as only substantially damaged, so the real number is higher (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Cessna 177 Cardinal carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A day of skiing1 in 830,000
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- One flight on the Cessna 177 CardinalThis aircraft1 in 140,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
23 fatal accidents in the United States since 2008 count toward the score, with 33 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private177RG · Morrison, TN, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Taking off from Basham Field, Tennessee, to move the Cardinal RG to a nearby airport, the left wing hit a tree and the tail hit an irrigation pipe. It got airborne, then dived into a corn field; both on board died. The investigation has not published a cause.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · Grass Valley, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On base for Grass Valley, California, ten days after an annual inspection, the Cardinal RG lost all power and hit trees; the pilot died. A fuel line nut at the flow divider had been left loose and leaked. NTSB: poor maintenance and inspection.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Skyraider Aero Club177B · Elk River, ID, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | After a low pass over the Elk River airstrip in an Idaho mountain valley, the Cardinal flew on toward rising ground and could not climb, possibly with flaps out and carburettor ice; it hit trees and burned. The pilot died; two passengers were badly hurt.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Lake Placid Flying Service Inc177RG · Lake Placid, NY, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | On a photo flight from Lake Placid, New York, the Cardinal RG lost some engine power after takeoff. The pilot turned back hard, it stalled and hit an embankment short of the runway. Both died. NTSB: power loss for undetermined reasons; the aircraft was nose-heavy.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private177 · Hot Springs, AR, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | Leaving with too little fuel and likely not leaning the engine, the pilot ran out of fuel near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Too slow while aiming for the lake, the Cardinal stalled and sank in it; the pilot drowned and the passenger escaped. NTSB: drug impairment.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Private177B · Watkinsville, GA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Being vectored in cloud for an instrument approach to Winder, Georgia, the pilot became disoriented and the Cardinal entered a descending right turn; part of the right wing broke off from overload and it hit a field. Both on board died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · Lake Havasu City, AZ, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Departing Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on partial power, the Cardinal RG would not climb; the pilot made a steep turn back, it stalled and crashed and burned. He died. NTSB: worn engine parts and broken piston rings caused the power loss.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private177B · Great Valley, NY, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | Just after lifting off from Great Valley, New York, the Cardinal banked about 90 degrees; the left wing hit the ground, it cartwheeled and burned. The pilot-rated passenger died and the pilot was badly hurt. NTSB: loss of control on takeoff.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Aircraft Partners LLC177RG · Galt, MO, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | The day after landing with ice on the wings, the pilot left Moberly, Missouri, into low cloud with forecast icing. Flying low under the cloud, the Cardinal RG slowly descended into trees near Galt. Both on board died. NTSB: departure into bad weather.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Unknown operator177 · Langley, WA, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | Near Whidbey Island, Washington, carburettor ice built up and the Cardinal's engine lost all power. Gliding to Whidbey Airpark, the instructor let the speed drop and it stalled and spun into trees by the runway. Both on board died.Type: IcingNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · Sterling, MA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Taking off from Sterling, Massachusetts, the Cardinal RG's engine ran rough and it dived into the ground beyond the runway; the pilot died. The tanks held only a few ounces of fuel and a faulty gauge read high. NTSB: fuel exhaustion, poor preflight check.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Unknown operator177 · Torrance, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | On a radar test flight near maximum weight, the Cardinal took off from Torrance, California, then banked sharply right in a climbing turn, stalled and dived into a building. The pilot died and his passenger was badly hurt. NTSB: airspeed not kept in the turn.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · LA Verne, CA, United States of America | 1 killed / 2 on board | Just after takeoff from Brackett Field, California, the pilot reported an engine problem and turned back; the Cardinal RG stalled in the turn and dived into the ground. One of the two on board died. NTSB: airspeed not kept; the engine fault could not be found.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Eagle Sky Patrol Inc177 · Price, TX, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On a low pipeline patrol near Henderson, Texas, the Cardinal clipped the highest guy-wire of a 449 ft communications tower with its left wing, then crashed and burned. The pilot died. NTSB: he did not keep clear of the wire while flying low.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private177B · Neihart, MT, United States of America | 1 killed / 4 on board | Showing a passenger the mountains near Neihart, Montana, the pilot flew up a narrowing canyon, met downdrafts and could not climb out; the Cardinal, over its maximum weight, brushed trees and crashed and burned. The pilot died; three passengers survived.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Eagle Sky Patrol Inc177 · Clayton, OK, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying at night from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Terrell, Texas, to bring home a Cessna 177A he had just collected, the commercial pilot flew into terrain west of Clayton, Oklahoma, and died. The NTSB could not determine why.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private177B · Honesdale, PA, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | After two go-arounds at Cherry Ridge, Pennsylvania, with a tailwind, the pilot landed fast and bounced, then added power and pitched the nose up too far. The Cardinal stalled and spun in; he died. NTSB: a sedating antihistamine above the normal dose contributed.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| ON File177A · North Vernon, IN, United States of America | 2 killed / 2 on board | A pilot without an instrument rating flew at night toward Madison, Indiana, despite briefings of cloud on the route. The Cardinal entered cloud, he became disoriented and lost control, and it hit the ground at high speed near North Vernon. Both on board died.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · Tallapoosa, GA, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | In cruise near Tallapoosa, Georgia, the pilot reported low oil pressure; a connecting rod cap bolt had failed, the crankcase cracked and the engine seized. Trying to land in a field, the Cardinal RG hit trees and burned. All three died.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| N345MT LLC177B · Owasso, OK, United States of America | 3 killed / 3 on board | Returning to Owasso, Oklahoma, the Cardinal ran out of fuel near the airfield; the pilot let the speed drop while trying to reach the runway and it stalled and spun in. All three died. NTSB: stall on the engine-out approach, after poor fuel planning.Type: FuelNTSB docket | |
| Private177 RG · Gilford, NH, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | On the first flight after an annual inspection that had not been completed, the engine lost all power after takeoff from Gilford, New Hampshire, and the Cardinal RG hit a tree in the forced landing. The pilot died. The record gives no probable cause.Type: Engine failureNTSB docket | |
| Private177RG · Mena, AR, United States of America | 1 killed / 1 on board | Flying to a business meeting in worsening weather, the pilot hit a fog-covered mountain ridge near Mena, Arkansas, and the Cardinal RG burned. He died. NTSB: he did not keep clear of rising terrain after continuing into bad weather.Type: Flight into terrainNTSB docket | |
| Private177 · St. Johns, AZ, United States of America | 1 killed / 3 on board | On an instructional takeoff from St. Johns, Arizona, at high density altitude, the Cessna 177 lifted off but would not climb; no one aborted, and it stalled and hit a pole and a car. The instructor later died; the pilot and a passenger were badly hurt.Type: Loss of control in flightNTSB docket |
The NTSB lists 1 more fatal event of the Cessna 177 Cardinal in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands or another US territory, or on a route outside the US states. They are not used, because the flight count covers US flights since 2008 only.
Ten of the 23 fatal Cessna Cardinal accidents in the United States since 2008 began with a loss of engine power: a mechanical failure, empty tanks or carburettor ice. Up to 28 October 2026, all 23 count toward the score. Only two were classed as training flights, and none as a passenger flight. Per flight, the record sits in the middle of the small planes we rate, clearly behind the Cessna 172, and the risks are the ones every owner of an old piston single faces.
What is the Cessna 177 Cardinal?
It is a four-seat, high-wing single that Cessna built from 1968, about 4,300 in total. Unlike the 172, its wing has no struts, and it has an all-moving tailplane. The fixed-gear 177 and 177B were joined by the 177RG, with retractable gear and a bigger engine. The US register held about 2,100 in 2026. Few schools use it; most Cardinals are flown by their owners.
How much does its record say?
Our record for the Cardinal is US-only and starts in 2008. Fatal accidents come from the NTSB database; flights, about 2.6 million from take-off to final landing, are estimated from the FAA aircraft register and the FAA General Aviation survey. The survey gives hours for all single-engine pistons together, and airframe hours in NTSB accident records and, to a lesser degree, hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers set each type's share. Those measures show that Cardinals, flown mainly by their owners, make far fewer flights per aircraft than school trainers, so the type sits clearly behind the 172 and close to the Cessna 182. The score rests mostly on the Cardinal's own record; the average of the other single-engine types counts for little. A flight in any light aircraft carries far more risk than an airline trip. Our method has the details.
What happens when the engine stops?
Six accidents were engine power losses, three were fuel exhaustion and one was carburettor ice. The aircraft was often still flyable; the stall came afterwards. At Lake Placid, New York, on 1 October 2023, a Cardinal RG lost some power after take-off, the pilot turned back hard, and it stalled; both on board died. Similar turn-backs ended in a stall at Brackett Field, California, in 2018 and Lake Havasu City, Arizona, in 2021. Near Whidbey Airpark, Washington, on 11 November 2020, carburettor ice stopped the engine on a flight with an instructor, and the aircraft stalled and spun while gliding to the runway.
Maintenance shows up too. Near Grass Valley, California, on 1 May 2025, a fuel line nut left loose after an annual inspection ten days earlier leaked until the engine quit. Near Tallapoosa, Georgia, on 26 November 2011, a connecting rod bolt failed and the engine seized; all three on board died. At Sterling, Massachusetts, on 11 March 2020, the tanks held only a few ounces of fuel while a faulty gauge read high.
Of the rest, six were flights into terrain, often under low cloud, at night or in a mountain canyon, and six were losses of control, two of them in cloud. The latest, near Morrison, Tennessee, on 17 June 2026, killed two on a short ferry flight; no cause has been published.
What should an owner or passenger check?
- Before each take-off, agree the height below which you will land ahead after an engine failure, and practise the glide with an instructor.
- Check the fuel by eye or with a dipstick. Do not trust the gauges.
- Treat the first flight after maintenance as a test: run the engine, check for leaks and stay near the airport.
- Use carburettor heat in the fixed-gear models as the manual says.
- As a passenger, ask the pilot about recent hours in the type and the plan for weather. Search the N-number in the NTSB CAROL database.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show C177 for the fixed-gear models and C77R for the Cardinal RG. The small-planes ranking compares it with the other types we rate.
Questions people ask
Is the Cessna Cardinal a safe plane?
For a small plane, its US record per flight since 2008 sits in the middle of the types we rate: close to the Cessna 182, and clearly behind the Cessna 172, a trainer that makes far more flights per aircraft. Most fatal accidents started with an engine or fuel problem, or with weather.
How many fatal Cessna 177 accidents have there been?
In the United States, 23 fatal accidents count toward our score from 2008 up to 28 October 2026, with 33 deaths. Ten of them involved the retractable-gear Cardinal RG.
What is the difference between the Cessna 177 and the 172?
Both are four-seat, high-wing singles. The Cardinal has a wing with no struts and an all-moving tailplane, and the 177RG has retractable landing gear. Far fewer were built, and few flight schools use it, so most are flown by their owners.
Should a Cardinal pilot turn back to the runway after an engine failure?
Only from a height the pilot has worked out and practised in advance. In several Cardinal crashes the aircraft stalled in a steep turn back toward the runway. Below that height, landing ahead, even in a field, is usually the safer choice.
Sources
- 1.NTSB docket: Cessna 177RG, Lake Placid, New York, 1 October 2023 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 2.NTSB docket: Cessna 177RG, Grass Valley, California, 1 May 2025 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 3.NTSB docket: Cessna 177RG, Sterling, Massachusetts, 11 March 2020 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 4.NTSB docket: Cessna 177, Langley, Washington, 11 November 2020 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 5.NTSB docket: Cessna 177RG, Tallapoosa, Georgia, 26 November 2011 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 6.NTSB docket: Cessna 177RG, Morrison, Tennessee, 17 June 2026 (opens in a new tab) · National Transportation Safety Board
- 7.SafetyScorer exposure model: FAA aircraft register, FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, OpenSky ADS-B, NTSB airframe hours (opens in a new tab)Flights of all kinds in the United States (private, training, charter and other civil use) 2008 to 3 November 2026, each counted from take-off to final landing: the hours of all US piston singles in each year (active aircraft and hours from the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey), split between types by US-registered aircraft (FAA register, 2,071 of this type in 2024) times how much each type flies against its class (0.80, mostly from airframe hours in NTSB accident records, partly from hours per aircraft seen by ADS-B receivers in 2019-2022), at 0.88 hours per flight from ADS-B tracks: about 76 flights per registered aircraft per year in 2024. Flights and accidents outside the United States, or before 2008, are not used. Against the FAA's hours per helicopter model, this method is off by about 22% on a typical type. Uncertainty roughly ±25%.