Cessna 172M N61972

Summary

On 5 April 2026 at about 04:07 local time, a Cessna 172M registered N61972, operated by Smtm Holdings Inc, was involved in an accident near Lakeland, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

5 April 2026 at 04:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakeland, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Lakeland Linder Intl (LAL)

Coordinates

27.9904, -82.0321

Aircraft

Cessna 172M

Registration

N61972

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Smtm Holdings Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA26LA159

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On April 05, 2026, at 0007 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M airplane, N61972, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lakeland, Florida. The pilot and certified flight instructor (CFI) rated passenger were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he was conducting touch-and-go landings at Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida. About 3 to 4 seconds after his ninth takeoff, the airplane pitched up uncontrollably to an unusually high attitude. The pilot attempted to pitch the nose of the airplane down; by applying full forward pressure to the control yoke. Realizing the flap switch was in the down position, he moved it up but still struggled to correct for the nose high attitude. The CFI rated passenger assisted the pilot on the airplane’s flight controls, and together they were able to obtain a level flight attitude. The CFI rated passenger then retarded the throttle to idle, and believing the engine was no longer producing power, declared an emergency with the air traffic control tower. He then maneuvered the airplane toward a lighted airport cargo ramp near the departure end of the runway. The airplane landed hard between the cargo ramp and a taxiway, impacted a berm and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. Surveillance video captured the accident sequence and showed that after touchdown, the airplane bounced, impacted the nose wheel on the ground, before nosing over and coming to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall, wings and vertical stabilizer. The airplane was equipped with an Electronics International Incorporated CGR-30 engine monitor. The airplane and its engine monitoring system were retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.