Cirrus SR20 N78RC
1 October 2025 · Portage, Wisconsin, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 1 October 2025 at about 15:30 local time, a Cirrus SR20 registered N78RC, operated by Wisconsin Aviation - Four Lakes Inc., was involved in an accident near Portage, Wisconsin, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 15:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Portage, Wisconsin, United States
- Nearest airport
- Portage Muni (C47)
- Coordinates
- 43.5603, -89.4829
- Aircraft
- Cirrus SR20
- Registration
- N78RC
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2002
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Wisconsin Aviation - Four Lakes Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Madison → Portage
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN26LA011
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The student pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed and attitude for a short field landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot was attempting a short field landing. While on final approach he slowed to just above 70 knots. Just after this, the instructor noticed the pitch attitude increase and the airspeed decrease so he called out, “go around, go, go!” and attempted to help advance the throttle but the student was already doing it. The airplane landed just beyond the runway numbers and then became airborne again. The student and instructor completed the traffic pattern and landed uneventfully. The flight instructor examined the main landing gear and did not find any damage present, so they returned to their home base whereupon the flight instructor found substantial damage to the structure for the vertical stabilizer. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions of failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cirrus SR20 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Aug 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Montauk, New York, United States | Nassau Flyers | No injuries | - |
| 30 Dec 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Louisburg, North Carolina, United States | McKnight Aviation LLC | No injuries | - |
| 24 Aug 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Charleston, West Virginia, United States | Marshall University | No injuries | - |
| 11 Nov 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Chesterfield, Missouri, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Nov 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Yame City, Japan | - | Fatal | 3 |
| 30 Sep 2025 | Cirrus SR20 | Watertown, Wisconsin, United States | Wisconsin Aviation - Four Lakes Inc. | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 2025 | Piper J3C-65 | Howard, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 2025 | Cessna 210 | Markesan, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Jul 2025 | Van's RV-6 | New Richmond, Wisconsin, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 Aug 2025 | Van's RV-12IS | Hartford, Wisconsin, United States | Kettle Moraine Youth Aviation Inc | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jul 2025 | Piper PA-20 | Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jul 2025 | Questair VENTURE | Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |