Cessna 172 N23NJ

Summary

On 24 November 2020 at about 21:07 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N23NJ, operated by Civil Air Patrol, was involved in an accident near Manville, New Jersey, 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

24 November 2020 at 21:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Manville, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Central Jersey Regional Airpor (47N)

Coordinates

40.5244, -74.5983

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N23NJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Civil Air Patrol

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA055

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain a proper glidepath while on approach to the runway, and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action, which resulted in the airplane colliding with a tree on final approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the flight instructor and the private pilot approached the runway for landing, the flight instructor told the pilot the airplane was getting too low and that he needed to add power “more than once.” When the pilot did not add sufficient power to correct the descent, she attempted to add it herself, but it was too late, and the airplane’s left wing stuck the tree. The airplane then struck the ground short of the runway, continued forward until it reached the runway lip, and then nosed over. The airplane’s left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. The operator reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.