Cessna 172RG accident near Bridgeport, Texas, March 21, 2006
On March 21, 2006 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N616SF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bridgeport, Texas. 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 flight instructor's delayed remedial action to regain control of the airplane while landing in a crosswind, and the inadvertent retraction of the landing gear by the pilot receiving instruction while executing a go-around. A factor was the prevailing crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 21, 2006 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bridgeport, Texas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172RG · all 172RGs on the register
- Registration
- N616SF · registry record · serial 172RG0740
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 645-hour flight instructor was providing flight instruction to a 173-hour private pilot as part of his training towards a commercial pilot certificate. During their third landing, while practicing take offs and landings on runway 35, the pilot receiving instruction started to lose directional control of the single-engine airplane while attempting to land the nose-wheel equipped airplane with a prevailing crosswind. The instructor immediately and repeatedly told the pilot receiving instruction to abort the landing and initiate a go-around. The flight instructor reported that while attempting to initiate a go-around, the pilot receiving instruction inadvertently retracted the landing gear instead of retracting the flaps. The airplane subsequently settled hard onto the runway, coming to an abrupt stop on the runway. The winds at the time of the mishap were reported by the flight instructor to be from the northwest at 15 knots, gusting to 19 knots. Runway 35 was reported to be 4,004-feet long, by 60-feet wide. Examination of the airplane revealed structural damage to the lower bulkhead.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 645 hours in all; 138 in this make and model; 172 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-F1A6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: XBP Bridgeport TX
- Destination: XBP Bridgeport TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N616SF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.