# Accident 20260128001279A: Cessna 172P, Lafayette, IN, January 28, 2026

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 28, 2026, 10:10 local time
- Place: Lafayette, IN
- Airport: Purdue University
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: 8PUS
- Location: 40.1710° N, 86.9580° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1710&lon=-86.9580&mi=10
- Aircraft: N51204, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N51204) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 331 total, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN26LA106](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA106) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260128001279A

## Narrative

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

CESSNA 172P DEPARTED KLAF IN VMC CONDITIONS ON AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT.  INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PRACTICED FLIGHT MANUEVERS AND NUMEROUS POWER OFF STALL RECOVERIES.  ON LAST STALL RECOVERY, STUDENT PUSHED THE YOKE FORWARD AND ADDED POWER, PLACING AIRCRAFT INTO A DIVE AT FULL POWER.  DATA INDICATES MORE THAN 200 KIAS AT 10000 FPM DURING DIVE, AND AIRCRAFT LOST MORE THAN 3000 FEET ALTITUDE.  INSTRUCTOR RECOVERED AIRCRAFT AND PLACED AIRCRAFT INTO AN APPROX. 5000 FPM CLIMB.  INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT NOTICED AIRCRAFT THEN WOULD NOT MAKE FULL POWER. INSTRUCTOR DECLARED IN-FLIGHT EMERGENCY AND LANDED AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INCIDENT.  POST-FLIGHT INSPECTION OF AIRCRAFT DETERMINED SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO MAIN WING SPARS, FLAPS AND ATTACHMENT STRUCTURE, FUSELAGE AND STABILIZER.

## 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 CEN26LA106](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN26LA106), Jan 28, 2026: Cessna 172 (N51204), Lafayette, IN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the student during a stall recovery that developed into unusual attitude and exceedance of the airplane’s never exceed airspeed which resulted in…

## Other reports on N51204 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20180218002759I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180218002759I), Feb 18, 2018: Cessna 172P (N51204), West Lafayette, IN, Minor damage. Description: N51204 struck a runway light after the pilot failed to correct for the left turning tendencies associated with the takeoff roll…

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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