Cessna 172 accident near Palatka, Florida, August 12, 2006
On August 12, 2006 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N2469U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palatka, Florida (Palatka Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to preclude a stall while maneuvering over the runway, and the instructor's inadequate supervision of the student pilot, which resulted in a collision with the runway. A factor in the accident was an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 2006 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Palatka, Florida · Palatka Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N2469U · registry record · serial 172S10067
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated flight instructor, seated in the right front seat, was conducting a Title 14, CFR Part 91, instructional flight with a student pilot seated in the left front seat, who had accrued 4 flight hours. A second student occupied a rear seat to observe the training. The instructor reported that she planned to have the student fly over the runway in a landing configuration. The student pilot established the airplane in a slow flight maneuver at 65 knots with the flaps down, while flying about 5 to 10 feet above the runway. The instructor reported that the airspeed dropped quickly from 65 to 45 knots, and the airplane began to descend. She instructed the student to "go around," but when the descent rate was not arrested, she took the controls. At that time, the airplane was in a nose-low, right bank. The instructor ensured that full power had been applied, raised the nose of the airplane, and applied left rudder and left aileron. The airplane continued to descend, and the left wing struck the runway. The instructor regained control of the airplane after touchdown, and taxied to parking. The airplane received structural damage to the left wing. The instructor reported that the airplane did not have any preimpact mechanical malfunction.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 447 hours in all; 72 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days; 267 as pilot in command; 21 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rgt
Dual student
- Flight time: 4 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 4 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: North Florida Flight Training Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KCRG Jacksonville FL
- Destination: 28J Palatka FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.