# Accident 20140720024009A: Cessna 172N, Elliott Key, FL, July 20, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 20, 2014, 14:46 local time
- Place: Elliott Key, FL
- Airport: Kendall-Tamiami Executive
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: D4RS
- Location: 25.4381° N, 80.2000° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.4381&lon=-80.2000&mi=10
- Aircraft: N737TP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N737TP-2016-08-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 139 total, 101 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA14LA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA346) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140720024009A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON JULY 20, 2014, AT APPROX. 1245 EASTERN TIME (ET), N737TP, A CESSNA 172N, REGISTERED BY LILY AVIATION CORP. AND OPERATED BY DEAN INTERNATIONAL INC. (D4RS - PART 141 PILOT SCHOOL) DEPARTED FROM KENDALL-TAMIAMI EXECUTIVE AIRPORT (TMB) FOR INSTRUCTOR PLANNED PATTERN WORK AROUND TMB. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) GAVE REQUESTED CLEARANCE TO HEAD SOUTHEAST TOWARDS BISCAYNE BAY AT 1346 ET. AT 1446 ET, THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE WATER OFF ELLIOTT KEY, APPROXIMATELY 150 YARDS FROM THE NORTHEAST SHORE LINE. THE STUDENT PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT ONBOARD, DID NOT SURVIVE THE IMPACT AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. WINDS WERE OUT OF THE SW @ 8 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 17 KNOTS WITH 10 MILES VISIBILITY. BASED ON WITNESS STATEMENTS;  TWO FEMALE WITNESSES LOOKED UP AT THE DIRECTION OF THE SOUND OF THE AIRPLANE AND SAW THE AIRCRAFT PITCH NOSE UP MOMENTARILY FOR A SECOND OR TWO, THEN PROCEEDED TO FALL STRAIGHT NOSE DOWN UNTIL THEY LOST SIGHT OF IT BEHIND THE TREE LINE THEN HEARD THE IMPACT IN THE WATER. TWO MALE WITNESSES HEARD THE HIGH PITCH NOISE OF THE ENGINE, TURNED TO LOOK AND SAW THE AIRCRAFT DIVING STRAIGHT DOWN, LOST SIGHT OF IT BEHIND THE TREE LINE ON THE ISLAND AND THEN HEARD A LOUD IMPACT. FROM INITIAL SIGHTING TO IMPACT APPROXIMATE TIME WAS 4-5 SECONDS. ALL PARTIES STATED THAT THEY DID NOT SEE ANY PARTS MISSING FROM THE AIRCRAFT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA14LA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA14LA346), Jul 20, 2014: Cessna 172N (N737TP), Elliott Key, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The airplane’s vertical descent into water for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident airplane examinations revealed no mechanical anomalies.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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