Cessna 172K N7085G

Summary

On 19 December 2024 at about 16:30 local time, a Cessna 172K registered N7085G was involved in an accident near Southport, North Carolina, 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

19 December 2024 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Southport, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.9329, -78.0706

Aircraft

Cessna 172K

Registration

N7085G

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA087

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation, and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision, which resulted in the subsequent overstress of the airplane during recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The instrument training flight was conducted in instrument meteorological conditions. The private pilot receiving instruction said that he initiated a “slight turn to the left which spatially disoriented me. We ended up in a spiral, and then my instructor took over and recovered [the airplane].” The flight instructor gave a similar account and stated that he “allowed the situation to deteriorate too far before taking control.” After landing, a visual inspection of the airplane revealed substantial damage in the form of “plastic deformation” to both wings consistent with overstress. The flight instructor reported that prior to the accident the airplane required a “1-3 degree” input in the roll axis to maintain the desired heading. When the flight instructor was asked if he felt the discrepancy was significant enough to declare an emergency, abort the mission, or perform a precautionary landing, and he replied, “No. We noticed it and briefed it, but no. It was noticed, but not a grounding condition.”

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.