Cessna 172 N5136E

Summary

On 7 January 2026 at about 20:03 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N5136E, operated by US Aviation Academy, was involved in an accident near San Marcos, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 January 2026 at 20:03

Classification

Accident

Location

San Marcos, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

San Marcos Rgnl (HYI)

Coordinates

29.9012, -97.8577

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N5136E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

US Aviation Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Marcos → San Marcos

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN26LA092

1 person had minor injuries.

The flight instructor’s failure to properly configure the elevator trim for the takeoff, that resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s failure to follow the before takeoff checklist.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor was going to demonstrate to the pilot receiving instruction, a short-field takeoff, with a simulated loss of engine power, as required per the flight school lesson plan. The flight instructor reported that he configured the airplane for the takeoff. Once the airplane had climbed to about 100 ft agl, he reduced the engine power to idle and began the descent back to the runway. The flight instructor noticed that the flight controls “seemed heavy” and the airplane was “descending fast.” The airplane landed hard on the runway and came to rest upright. The airplane taxied to the ramp without further incident, the airplane was shut down, and both occupants departed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane found the elevator trim was set to the full nose down position for the takeoff. The operator reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The operator further reported that the accident could have been prevented if the flight instructor had adhered to the published maneuver procedure and profile, for the maneuver that was being demonstrated. The airplane’s before takeoff checklist includes a step to configure the elevator trim for the takeoff. The FAA Aviation Instructor’s Handbook FAA-8083-9B discusses checklists and states in part: Checklists are essential flight deck resources for verifying that the aircraft instruments and systems are checked, set, and operating properly, as well as ensuring that the proper procedures are performed if there is a system malfunction or inflight emergency.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.