Cessna 172RG accident near Morristown, New Jersey, July 4, 2009
On July 4, 2009 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N751DW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Morristown, New Jersey (Morristown 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a parked aircraft during taxi operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 4, 2009 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Morristown, New Jersey · Morristown Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- 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
- N751DW · registry record · serial 172RG1002
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the completion of a local instructional flight, the flight instructor taxied the airplane from the right seat, "on centerline," with the engine power at idle. As he taxied between two parked airplanes, he struck the airplane parked to his right, and damaged the right wing rib of his airplane. The parked airplane sustained minor damage. The instructor said that he "let his guard down" and that there was nothing wrong with the performance and handling of his airplane.
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
- 253200 during 253
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Ratings: single-engine land, ASE, IAIR, APLN, none
- Flight time: 450 hours in all; 77 in this make and model; 131 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 400 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 22, 2008
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land, none, APLN, none
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,489 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 16, 2009; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O360 F1A6 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ameriflyers Of Florida LLC
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: MGJ Montgomery NY at 3:15 pm
- Destination: MMU Morristown NJ
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,200 ft
- Temperature: 75°C, dew point 57°C
- Altimeter: 29.870001 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from MMU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N751DW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA09CA391.