Cessna 172RG N9515B

Summary

On 1 February 2005 at about 13:50 local time, a Cessna 172RG registered N9515B was involved in an accident near Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. 2 people were 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

1 February 2005 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

41.9517, -86.3678

Aircraft

Cessna 172RG

Registration

N9515B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Berrien Springs → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA060

Nobody was injured.

The pilot not maintaining airspeed leading to an excessive sink rate during a simulated emergency landing after takeoff. An additional cause was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane, piloted by a private pilot receiving instruction from a certified flight instructor (CFI), sustained substantial damage during a hard landing following a simulated loss of engine power during takeoff and subsequent emergency landing after takeoff. The pilot's accident report stated, "On climb out, the air speed was held between 63 and 65 knots (Vy). To simulate an engine failure, the CFI reduced the throttle. Immediately upon noticing the loss of power, I lowered the nose of the aircraft to avoid loss of airspeed and to avoid a wing stall. While maintaining control of the aircraft, altitude was lost. An attempt was made to flare the aircraft before contact with the runway. Subsequently, a hard landing was made, and the aircraft came to a complete stop on the runway." The CFI's accident report stated, "We then made a short field takeoff and during the takeoff I simulated an engine failure. We immediately pushed the nose over but with insufficient airspeed we developed a high sink rate and made a hard landing." The CFI stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions associated with the airplane during the flight. The wind was calm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.