Cessna 182Q accident near Lafayette, Georgia, July 16, 2006
On July 16, 2006 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna 182Q, registered N97351, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lafayette, Georgia. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper flare which resulted 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
- July 16, 2006 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lafayette, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182Q · all 182Qs on the register
- Registration
- N97351 · no longer on the register · serial 18267065
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot stated that he was on his first solo cross-country solo, and became disorientated en route to the Barwick Lafayette Airport (9A5). He landed at the Richard B Russell Airport, Rome, Georgia, to go over his flight plan and then continue to 9A5. During the continuation of his flight he became disorientated again, contacted air traffic control, and was radar vectored to 9A5. The student pilot stated that during the landing on runway 2 he flared the airplane high, and landed hard on the runway. The airplane veered off of the left side of the runway, down an embankment, and collided with a ditch.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 50 hours in all; 20 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,084 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2006; 2.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,700 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RMG Rome GA at 2:45 am
- Destination: 9A5 Lafayette GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 2, 5,412 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.