Cessna 172H accident near Waycross, Georgia, December 6, 2005
On December 6, 2005 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172H, registered N1689F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Waycross, Georgia (Waycross-Ware County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper landing flare and the CFI's inadequate supervision resulting in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 2005 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Waycross, Georgia · Waycross-Ware County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172H · all 172Hs on the register
- Registration
- N1689F · no longer on the register · serial 17255084
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), the purpose of the flight was to give dual instruction to the student pilot. The flight departed the Waycross Municipal Airport, Georgia where they remained in the traffic pattern for takeoffs and landings. The CFI stated that they made a "harsh" landing on the third landing on runway 36. After the airplane was taxied back to the ramp, a brief inspection of the landing gear was conducted by the CFI, and no sign of damage was noted. In a record of telephone conversation with the Waycross Aviation School mechanic, he stated that two days after the flight, he noticed that the nose wheel rim of the accident airplane was bent. After further inspection the mechanic also observed that the firewall was buckled.
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: 495 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 401 as pilot in command; 89 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 10 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,700 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2005; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arnzen Inc
The flight
- Departed from: KAYS Waycross GA at 6:00 pm
- Destination: KAYS Waycross GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 6,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 250 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 6:59 pm from KVAD, 44 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.