Cessna 172S N63405

Summary

On 13 April 2026 at about 21:28 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N63405, operated by US Aviation Academy, was involved in an accident near The Rock, Georgia, United States. One person was 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

13 April 2026 at 21:28

Classification

Accident

Location

The Rock, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Thomaston-Upson County (OPN)

Coordinates

32.9556, -84.2650

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N63405

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

US Aviation Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA174

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, porpoised landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that during landing, the airplane encountered a light wind gust, ballooned, touched down hard, and porpoised several times. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.