Cessna 172M N9946Q

Summary

On 8 July 2022 at about 19:35 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N9946Q, operated by Portland Flight Services, was involved in an accident near South Portland, Maine, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2022 at 19:35

Classification

Accident

Location

South Portland, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Portland Intl Jetport (PWM)

Coordinates

43.6440, -70.3059

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N9946Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Portland Flight Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA303

2 people were seriously injured.

The student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot had previously accumulated about 40 total hours of flight experience, but the accident flight with the flight instructor was his first after having not flown for about six years. During the first approach to landing, the flight instructor directed the student to perform a touch-and-go landing. The student pilot stated that he felt “nervous” given the amount of time that had elapsed since he had last flown. The student thought that he subsequently landed the airplane hard and recalled hearing the sound of “crunching metal.” His next recollection was waking up on the runway as the airplane caught fire. The student pilot and the flight instructor were seriously injured and the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged during the landing and subsequent postimpact fire. Despite several attempts to contact him, the flight instructor could not be reached following the accident and did not provide a statement about the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.