- Date
- June 18, 2023, 08:00 local (12:00 UTC)
- Place
- Seymore, TN
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N12395Cessna 172
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 192401
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The flight instructor’s failure to properly configure the wing flaps for a soft-field takeoff on a short runway, which resulted in a runway overrun and collision with trees.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
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.
Analysis
The flight instructor stated that he was teaching the student pilot a soft-field takeoff technique on a 2,300-ft-long turf runway, with a passenger in the back seat. The flight instructor further stated that student pilot lifted off the airplane at 52 knots, but it settled back to the runway as the wind shifted from a headwind to a tailwind. The airplane then traveled about 100 ft beyond the departure end of the runway and struck bushes, coming to rest upright. The flight instructor added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The inspector noted that the flaps were in the fully retracted position and asked the flight instructor why he did not perform the accident takeoff with 10° flap extension, per the owner’s manual. The flight instructor replied that was always how he performed soft-field takeoffs. The recorded wind speed about the time of the accident was 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12395
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (M)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17261968
- Built
- 1973
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- TN20 · Seymour Air Park, runway 25, 2,300 × 100 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system
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.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 74
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial, Military
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 20, 2023
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 30,000 total · 15,000 in this make and model · 20,000 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 52 total · 48 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- TYS, 10 nm away
- METAR
- KTYS 181153Z 07003KT 8SM BKN250 18/14 A2994
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 8, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 MB in all.
Other investigations on N12395 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.