Cessna 172 N5631E

Summary

On 26 February 2021 at about 19:45 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N5631E, operated by Pilot Training Center, was involved in an accident near Boynton Beach, Florida, 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

26 February 2021 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Boynton Beach, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.5050, -80.1956

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N5631E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Pilot Training Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Palm Beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA144

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was performing ground reference maneuvers at 1,000 ft when the flight instructor noticed that the airplane had descended “about 100 ft.” He advised the student pilot to climb the airplane back to the desired altitude, but the airplane did not respond to the student’s control inputs. The instructor took control of the airplane and his remedial actions failed to restore engine power, so he performed a forced landing to a dirt road between cultivated fields, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. A detailed examination of the airplane and a successful postaccident engine run failed to reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies. Although atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious icing at glide power, the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined based on the available information.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.