ERA25LA345

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Williston, FL · September 13, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
September 13, 2025, 07:33 local (11:33 UTC)
Place
Williston, FL · Airport Property
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N345QACessna 172
Defining event
Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of engine power (total)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
Case key
201000

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 September 13, 2025, about 0733 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172G, N345QA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Williston, Florida. 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 the flight departed Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), Orlando, Florida, about 0600 with 17 gallons of fuel onboard, overflew Cross City Airport (CTY), Cross City, Florida, and was scheduled to land at Williston Regional Airport (X60), Williston, Florida. About 1.5 hours after departure, while the airplane transitioned from the base leg to the final leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 05 at X60, the engine experienced a momentary loss of power, followed shortly thereafter by a total loss of power. The pilot was unable to restore power to the engine and performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed, the airplane nosed over and came to rest in a grass field about 0.25-mile from the approach end of runway 05. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing strut. The airplane was retained for further examination.

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
N345QA
Reported as
Cessna 172 (G)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17253628
Built
1965
Airframe hours
4,535.8
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
N345qa LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · August 10, 2025 · 18.34 hours before
Departed
KORL · Orlando, FL
Destination
Same as departure
Airport
X60 · Williston Rgnl, runway 05, 6,669 × 100 ft, concrete
Equipment
Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B

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
360° at 6 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Temperature
66 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
X60, 1 nm away
METAR
KX60 131135Z AUTO 36006KT 10SM SCT055 19/18 A3000 RMK AO2 T01910181