Cessna 172N accident near Blue Hill, Maine, May 16, 2010
On May 16, 2010 at about 1:25 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N733XD, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Blue Hill, Maine (Blue Hill 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 flight instructor’s inability to maintain directional control while landing with gusting winds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 16, 2010 · about 1:25 pm local time
- Place
- Blue Hill, Maine · Blue Hill 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
- N733XD · registry record · serial 17268623
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the flight instructor, he was demonstrating a soft-field landing to a grass runway in a tricycle-gear airplane. During the landing roll on runway 34, a “strong wind gust from the right” lifted the airplane’s right wing, and the airplane “slid sideways to the left.” The student pilot noted that the airplane had landed “midline,” and after the gust of wind struck, the nose of the airplane headed left even though the instructor had applied full right rudder and aileron. The airplane’s left wing subsequently grazed small tree branches, then impacted a bigger branch that rotated the airplane counter-clockwise. The airplane came to rest perpendicular to the grass runway, with the airplane’s nose facing into the trees. The airplane’s left wing tip and right wing leading edge were damaged. The flight instructor and the student pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane. Weather, reported about 9 miles east of the accident site, included winds from 320 degrees at 12 knots, gusting 17 knots.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Ability to respond/compensate
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,721 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 1,644 as pilot in command; 233 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 14, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 107 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 23 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,854 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 7, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Jej Leasing LLC
The flight
- Departed from: BHB Bar Harbor ME at 12:15 pm
- Destination: 07B Blue Hill ME
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 3,186 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 1:35 pm from BHB, 9 miles away
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.