Cessna 172P N62112

Summary

On 3 February 2025 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 172P registered N62112, operated by MidTN Aviation Academy LLC, was involved in an accident near Clarksville, Tennessee, 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

3 February 2025 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Clarksville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Outlaw Fld (CKV)

Coordinates

36.6219, -87.4149

Aircraft

Cessna 172P

Registration

N62112

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

MidTN Aviation Academy LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA114

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane, which allowed the partially secured engine cowl to separate in flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot, who was on his second instructional flight, departed the airport and climbed to 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) before leveling off. Suddenly, the top engine cowling partially detached, blocking the view of both pilots. The flight instructor declared an emergency and returned to the airport for landing. During the landing attempt with reduced visibility, the airplane touched down hard, exited the paved runway surface, and impacted terrain. The left wing sustained damage to the aileron and spar. The operator stated that the airplane was out of service in maintenance for a broken oil servicing door. The instructor reported that the airplane was not listed as being out of service for maintenance and that he checked it out before he conducted, “a brief preflight inspection.” Postaccident examination of the airplane showed that the engine cowling detached with 50% of the fasteners unserviceable due to worn receivers. A proper preflight inspection of the airplane, which is the responsibility of the pilot in command (in this case, the flight instructor), would have revealed the engine cowl anomaly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.