Cessna 172 N4491R

Summary

On 21 December 2017 at about 16:00 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N4491R, operated by Monroe Aviation School of Flight LLC, was involved in an accident near Monroe, 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

21 December 2017 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Monroe, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Custer (TTF)

Coordinates

41.9436, -83.4328

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N4491R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Monroe Aviation School of Flight LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monroe → Monroe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA097

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s improper yaw control during the landing flare and the flight instructor’s failure to take remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the student pilot began to flare for a touch-and-go landing when a wind gust yawed the airplane to the left. He added that the wind "dropped out," and the airplane landed hard with the nose low, which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation station located on the airport reported that, about 5 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 140° at 6 knots. The flight instructor reported that the wind was variable at 10 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The airplane landed on runway 21.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.