Cessna 172N accident near Wabash, Indiana, October 1, 2010
On October 1, 2010 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N2140E, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Wabash, Indiana (Wabash Municipal 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 failure to maintain proper airspeed during the landing and certificated flight instructor's failure to execute a go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 1, 2010 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Wabash, Indiana · Wabash Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N2140E · no longer on the register · serial 17271168
- 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 (CFI) and student had been practicing touch-and-go landings and were planning a full-stop landing. The airplane touched down on the grass airstrip slightly faster than normal and approximately 100 feet beyond the approach end of the runway. The CFI took authority of the airplane's controls and applied brakes. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, the CFI applied left rudder to avoid a ditch in front of the airplane. Subsequently, the right main landing gear went into the ditch and the airplane flipped over. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent. The CFI reported that there were no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane. He further stated that they should have landed on the adjacent asphalt runway or performed a go-around after overshooting the final approach leg during the landing.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing area overshoot during landing defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,240 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 8,925 as pilot in command; 5,800 on instruments
- Last flight review: September 25, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 7 hours in all; 7 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,701 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 12, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IWH Wabash IN at 10:00 pm
- Destination: IWH Wabash IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 1,938 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.