Aircraft Research
Look up any FAA-registered aircraft by N-number or serial number, browse aggregate safety and maintenance records by year, manufacturer, and model, or search the registry for aircraft matching specific safety criteria — all free, no account needed.
Search for Full FAA Registration and Aircraft Details Record Look up one specific aircraft by N-number or serial number — full FAA registration and airworthiness details, N-number history, and its accident/service-difficulty history.
1972 Cessna 172 Skyhawk
N20218 · Serial 17261104
Currently Registered as of Oct 16, 2026Manufacturer-certified specifications for this aircraft type — not a claim about this specific airframe's current configuration.
N-Number History
- N20218 — Sep 9, 2026 to present
Full FAA Registration Record
| Serial Number (as registered) | 17261104 |
|---|---|
| Aircraft Unique ID Number | 00600992 |
| FAA Manufacturer / Model Code | 2072418 |
| Aircraft Engine Type | Other |
| Engine Manufacturer / Model | LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES |
| Certification of Aircraft Registration Date | May 29, 2015 |
| Airworthiness Certificate Issue Date | Oct 24, 1972 |
| Airworthiness Classification | Standard (code: NU) |
| Registration Status | Currently Registered |
| Aircraft Registration Expiration Date | May 31, 2028 |
| Last FAA Update | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Registration Country | US |
| Registration State | KS |
| Weight Class | CLASS 1 |
| TC Data Sheet | — |
| TC Data Holder | — |
| FAA AIDS Reports | 20170211007289I, 19840714034269A |
Accident & Incident History (NTSB)
-
Accident
Jul 14, 1984 — SOUTHGATE, MI
NTSB event number CHI84LA295 — view NTSB's investigation summary for what NTSB found.
See NTSB history for every Cessna 172 Skyhawk on file → (FAA-registered and foreign/military aircraft, combined)
Service Difficulty Reports (FAA)
Filing a Service Difficulty Report is required by law for repair stations, aircraft manufacturers, and airlines, but is largely voluntary for privately owned, individually operated aircraft. A blank result below reflects who's required to report a defect, not necessarily a clean maintenance history — and conversely, reports on file are rarely the complete picture for an aircraft that's mostly been privately maintained.
No FAA Service Difficulty Reports found for this aircraft.
Reported Incidents (FAA AIDS)
The FAA's Accident/Incident Data System tracks events below the damage/injury threshold that makes something an NTSB-investigated accident — mostly minor incidents that never became a full NTSB case. A report below marked "Accident" may be the same event already shown above under NTSB; that overlap is expected, not a data error.
-
Incident
Feb 11, 2017 — EMPORIA, KS (possible match)
General Information
- N-Number (as reported)
- 20218
- Event Time
- 19:45
- Airport
- —
- Mid Air Collision
- Not A Midair
- Flight Phase
- Taxi
Aircraft Information
- Damage
- Minor
- Aircraft (as reported)
- CESSNA 172M
- Flight Conducted Under
- GENERAL OPERATING RULES
- Engine (as reported)
- LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- Operator
- —
- Total Aboard
- 1
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 0 non-fatal
Pilot In Command
- PIC Flight Time Total Hours
- 20
- PIC Flight Time Total Make/Model Hours
- 20
- PIC Flight Time Hours (Last 90 Days)
- 3
Event Remarks
ON FEBRUARY 11, 2017 AT APPROXIMATELY 1345 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A STUDENT PILOT WAS INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT WHILE TAXIING A CESSNA 172M AT THE EMPORIA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (KEMP) IN EMPORIA, KANSAS; THE AIRCRAFT IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY A LOCAL FLYING CLUB PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 61. PURSUANT TO THE PILOT?S VERBAL ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT, THE PILOT WAS ON A SOLO TRAINING FLIGHT PRACTICING TOUCH AND GOES ON RUNWAY 1. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE PILOT NOTICED A ?SHUDDER? FROM THE NOSE WHEEL. THE PILOT THEN APPLIED BACKPRESSURE TO THE CONTROLS AND THE SHUDDER BEGAN TO DECREASE. THE PILOT HAS A BACKGROUND IN AUTO MECHANICS AND BELIEVED THE PROBLEM TO BE A FLAT OR LOW NOSE TIRE. AFTER THE LANDING ROLLOUT, THE PILOT HEARD ANOTHER AIRCRAFT ON THE RADIO APPROACHING FROM THE SOUTH AND BELIEVED IT WAS THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION TO TAXI CLEAR OF THE RUNWAY, ONTO THE GRASS ADJACENT TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, IN THE EVENT THE AIRCRAFT BECAME DISABLED. THE PILOT TAXIED THE AIRCRAFT ?SLOWLY? THROUGH THE GRASS BUT AS THE NOSE STRUT COMPRESSED, THE PROP STRUCK THE GROUND IN A WATER DRAINAGE AREA. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY STOPPED THE ENGINE AND HAD THE AIRCRAFT TOWED BACK TO THE HANGAR. A POST-INCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER AND A HOLE IN THE SIDEWALL OF THE NOSE TIRE AND INNER TUBE.
FAA AIDS report 20170211007289I
-
Accident
Jul 14, 1984 — SOUTHGATE, MI (possible match)
General Information
- N-Number (as reported)
- 20218
- Event Time
- 16:45
- Airport
- DETROIT METRO
- Mid Air Collision
- Not A Midair
- Flight Phase
- Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
Aircraft Information
- Damage
- Substantial
- Aircraft (as reported)
- CESSNA 172M
- Flight Conducted Under
- GENERAL OPERATING RULES
- Engine (as reported)
- LYC O320E2D
- Operator
- —
- Total Aboard
- —
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 0 non-fatal
Pilot In Command
- PIC Flight Time Total Hours
- 545
- PIC Flight Time Total Make/Model Hours
- 171
- PIC Flight Time Hours (Last 90 Days)
- 7
Event Remarks
ENGINE QUIT AFTER A PROLONGED DESCENT WITHOUT ADEQUATE USE OF CARBURETOR HEAT. NOSED OVER HITTING A DITCH LANDING
FAA AIDS report 19840714034269A
Registration data, N-number history, and manufacturer type specs come from the FAA. Accident/incident history comes from the NTSB, matched by N-number (older records are cross-checked against this aircraft's registration history where possible — see the "possible match" note above for the residual cases we can't fully confirm). Service difficulty reports come from the FAA's own SDR program. Reported incidents come from the FAA's Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), matched by N-number. None of this is a substitute for reviewing an aircraft's logbooks and maintenance records before purchase.
Search for Safety and Maintenance Records by Year, Make and Model of Aircraft See aggregate NTSB accident/incident history, FAA Service Difficulty Reports and FAA Accident/Incident Data System Reports across every aircraft of a given year, manufacturer, and/or model — not just one airframe.
Pick at least a Year or a Manufacturer to get started.
Pick a Year or Manufacturer above to see its safety and maintenance record.
Search for Aircraft by Safety History Search the whole registry at once for year/manufacturer/model combinations that match specific safety and maintenance criteria you choose.
Find every year/manufacturer/model combination matching the safety and maintenance criteria below — pick at least one filter to search on.
Search for Deregistered and Out-of-Service Aircraft List the individual aircraft of a given year, manufacturer, and/or model that FAA no longer lists as an active (Valid) registration, along with N-number and whatever FAA registration status and NTSB accident history we have on record for each.
Optionally narrow by Year, Manufacturer, Model, and/or NTSB Accident History or FAA AIDS History below — leave everything at "All"/"Any" to browse every deregistered or out-of-service aircraft on file.
FAA's own deregistration data doesn't include a reason code (no "sold," "destroyed," or "scrapped" field), and its Registration Status values (shown in the results below) run almost entirely "Unknown" in practice — not a useful way to narrow this list. NTSB Accident History instead filters by whether that specific airframe has an NTSB accident or incident on record, and whether any of them marked it Destroyed — the closest signal this report can offer for whether an aircraft's exit from the registry followed an accident. FAA AIDS History filters the same way using FAA's own Accident/Incident Data System records instead, matched by that airframe's event type (Incident/Accident) and reported damage.
Loading…
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between an NTSB report and an FAA AIDS report?
The NTSB investigates accidents and serious incidents — events that meet a specific federal damage or injury threshold. FAA's Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS) tracks events that fall below that threshold: mostly minor incidents that were reported to the FAA but never rose to the level of a full NTSB investigation. Because both systems can end up recording the same real-world event, a report marked "Accident" under FAA AIDS may be the very same event already shown above under NTSB — that overlap is expected, not a data error.
What does "(possible match)" mean next to a report?
Every NTSB, FAA Service Difficulty, and FAA AIDS record is linked to a specific aircraft by its N-number (and, when available, its manufacturer serial number). A record is marked "confirmed" when our own tracked registration history shows this exact airframe held that N-number on the date of the event. It's marked "(possible match)" when we can't fully verify that — most often because the event happened further back than our registration history reaches. N-numbers get reassigned to a completely different aircraft over the decades, so a "possible match" is our best available inference, not a certainty.
My aircraft shows no FAA Service Difficulty Reports (SDRs) — does that mean it has a clean maintenance history?
Not necessarily. Filing a Service Difficulty Report is required by law for repair stations, aircraft manufacturers, and airlines, but it's largely voluntary for privately owned, individually operated aircraft. A blank SDR result reflects who's required to report a defect, not necessarily a clean maintenance history.
My aircraft shows no NTSB or FAA AIDS records — is that unusual?
No — it's the common case. The large majority of aircraft never appear in either system at all. An empty result under Accident & Incident History (NTSB) or Reported Incidents (FAA AIDS) simply means no event of that kind is on file for this airframe; it isn't a sign that data is missing.
Does a clean record on this page mean the aircraft is safe to buy?
No. This page reflects only what's on file in federal public records — it isn't a substitute for reviewing an aircraft's own logbooks and maintenance records, and ideally having a qualified mechanic perform a pre-purchase inspection, before you buy.
Where does this data come from, and how current is it?
Registration data, N-number history, and manufacturer type specs come from the FAA's own registry. Accident and incident history comes from the NTSB. Service difficulty reports come from the FAA's SDR program. Reported incidents come from the FAA's Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS). All four are public federal records that we import and refresh on an ongoing basis, so newly filed reports appear over time — but there's typically some lag between when the FAA or NTSB publishes a record and when it shows up here.
Pilot Gear We Recommend
-
Aviator sunglasses
Classic polarized aviators — glare protection built for the cockpit.
-
Pilot's travel bag
Room for charts, headset, and the rest of a flight kit.
-
Icom IC-A25N handheld transceiver
A full nav/com radio for a lost-comm or electrical-failure backup.
As an Amazon Associate, AeroPlanet.com earns from qualifying purchases.