- Date
- May 13, 2026, 18:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Denton, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2134MCessna 172S
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Flight control sys malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA - North Texas FSDO
- Case key
- 202991
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On May 13, 2026, about 1815 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N2134M, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Denton, Texas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during takeoff roll the airplane hit something on the runway (later determined to be a gas cap from another airplane) that caused the airplane to become airborne below normal rotation (Vr) speed. The pilot stated that he attempted to reduce airplane pitch by pushing the yoke in, but the yoke was stuck and would not move. The airplane drifted to the left which the pilot attempted to counter with aileron and rudder input. Since he was unable to lower the nose of the airplane, and he was only about 5 to 7 feet above the ground, he elected to reduce engine power and the airplane impacted the ground.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2134M
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9552
- Built
- 2003
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- US Aviation Academy
- Registered owner
- Christiansen Aviation LLC
- Destination
- KMWL · Mineral Wells, TX
- Airport
- DTO · Denton Enterprise Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KDTO
- METAR
- METAR KDTO 132253Z 12005KT 10SM CLR 32/15 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP142 T03170150
Other investigations on N2134M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.