- Date
- April 12, 2026, 18:46 local (22:46 UTC)
- Place
- Lutz, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N759APCessna 182Q
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2026
- 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
- 202961
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 student pilot’s improper landing flare and the flight instructor’s inadequate remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 3
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 student pilot had hired the flight instructor to accompany her on a three-day cross-country trip where they made multiple stops in order for her to gain familiarity with operating the airplane outside of her home operating environment. At the conclusion of a short cross-country flight, the student pilot was manipulating the controls while under instruction. During the landing attempt, the student pilot flared too early at an excessive height above the runway. The flight instructor did not take control of the airplane and instead attempted to give verbal instruction to the student to recover, but the airplane’s sink rate increased as the airspeed decreased. The airplane subsequently landed hard and flat on all 3-landing gear, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. Following the accident, the flight instructor stated that in hindsight he should have been more proactive and intervened earlier by conducting a go-around when the approach became unstable. The student pilot also stated that she was uncomfortable with the landings at an unfamiliar airport with 50 ft trees at the ends; she also thought that the flight instructor would be more hands-on during his instruction. The flight instructor reported that there were no pre impact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N759AP
- Reported as
- Cessna 182Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18265841
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 3,620.8
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470-U, 270 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 8, 2026 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- PCM · Plant City, FL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- X39 · Tampa North Aero Park, runway 14/32, 3,541 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, 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
- 20
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 13, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 469 total · 53 in this make and model · 422 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 3025.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ZPH, 13 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KZPH 122255Z AUTO 09010KT 10SM CLR 26/11 A3025