Aircraft types · Light airplane · single piston

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane widely used for flight training and personal flying. More 172s have been built than any other airplane model.

Representative photo of a Cessna 172 Skyhawk
Photo: Ziongarage, CC0
On the US register20,668
Valid registrations20,414
Median age51 years
NTSB records since 19827,041

How old is the US fleet?

Age of US-registered Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft, in years02,6865,3718,05610,7420–4: 679 aircraft0–45–9: 418 aircraft5–910–14: 283 aircraft10–1415–19: 346 aircraft15–1920–24: 779 aircraft20–2425–29: 1,091 aircraft25–2930–34: 0 aircraft30–3435–39: 1 aircraft35–3940–44: 491 aircraft40–4445–49: 3,140 aircraft45–4950+: 10,742 aircraft50+
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Age (years)Aircraft
0–4679
5–9418
10–14283
15–19346
20–24779
25–291,091
30–340
35–391
40–44491
45–493,140
50+10,742

Ages from the year of manufacture in the FAA registry. Age alone says little about safety: aircraft are maintained on FAA-approved programs, and older airplanes flown by US airlines must also pass extra FAA aging-airplane inspections and records reviews at set intervals (14 CFR 121.1105).

Most common variants

172M
3,575
172S
3,145
172N
3,138
172
1,806
172P
1,110
172K
1,026
172L
858
172H
780

Public NTSB records mentioning this type

The NTSB database lists 7,041 records involving a Cessna 172 Skyhawk since 1982: 6,989 classified as accidents and 52 as incidents.

Records per year (last 10 years)

NTSB records per year involving the Cessna 172 Skyhawk0306091121’16: 121 records’16’17: 121 records’17’18: 117 records’18’19: 121 records’19’20: 99 records’20’21: 115 records’21’22: 117 records’22’23: 110 records’23’24: 117 records’24’25: 108 records’25’26: 77 records’26
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YearNTSB records
2016121
2017121
2018117
2019121
202099
2021115
2022117
2023110
2024117
2025108
202677
Please read this before comparing numbers. These are raw counts of NTSB records, not rates. Types that are more numerous, fly more hours, or are used for training naturally appear more often. Counts include minor events and events with no injuries, and can't be used to compare the safety of one type with another. SafelyAboard does not rate or score aircraft. Records also include some events outside the US that the NTSB took part in.

Cessna 172 Skyhawk: common questions

How many Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft are registered in the US?

The FAA registry lists 20,668 aircraft matching the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, of which 20,414 have a valid registration. That includes aircraft registered to airlines, lessors and other owners.

How old is the typical Cessna 172 Skyhawk in the US?

The median age, from the year of manufacture in the FAA registry, is about 51 years. Age alone says little about safety: aircraft are maintained on FAA-approved programs, and older airplanes flown by US airlines must also pass extra FAA aging-airplane inspections and records reviews at set intervals (14 CFR 121.1105).

How can I tell if my flight is on a Cessna 172 Skyhawk?

Your airline's app or booking usually shows the aircraft type. At the gate, you can read the tail number (on US aircraft it starts with N) and look it up on SafelyAboard. Airlines can swap aircraft, so check again on the day.

Is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk safe?

SafelyAboard doesn't rate or compare aircraft types. The NTSB record counts on this page depend heavily on how many aircraft exist and how much they fly, so they can't be used to compare safety. For the bigger picture, see our explainer on how safe flying is overall.

Flying on a Cessna 172 Skyhawk soon? Get a calm My Flight briefing, read what's normal on a flight, or see how safe flying is overall.

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Data: FAA Releasable Aircraft Database (file dated 2026-10-16) and NTSB aviation accident database, refreshed 2026-10-17 20:47 UTC. Counts match FAA/NTSB make and model text and may include closely related variants.