Cessna 172RG accident near Kissimmee, Florida, November 8, 2011
On November 8, 2011 at about 11:50 pm local time, a Cessna 172RG, registered N5095V, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Kissimmee, Florida (Kissimee Gateway 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
A fatigue failure of the right main landing gear pivot assembly, which prevented the landing gear from extending.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 2011 · about 11:50 pm local time
- Place
- Kissimmee, Florida · Kissimee Gateway · map
- 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
- N5095V · no longer on the register · serial 172RG0445
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was not able to obtain a positive gear down-and-locked indication and noticed that the right main landing gear (MLG) only extended about halfway down. After unsuccessful troubleshooting efforts, he performed an emergency gear-up landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. Examination of the landing gear system revealed that the stub shaft of the right MLG pivot assembly was fractured and exhibited characteristics consistent with a torsional fatigue fracture containing multiple origins. Before the accident flight, a company mechanic observed some hydraulic fluid on the MLG leg and assumed that there was a leak from the pivot gear O-rings, which he replaced. The Federal Aviation Administration previously issued an airworthiness directive (AD), which included an inspection of MLG pivot assemblies for cracks, in accordance with a manufacturer's service bulletin. The AD did not call for repetitive inspections. At the time of the accident, the airplane had been operated for about 7,755 total hours and about 1,800 hours since the time of AD compliance. The airplane service manual contained a supplemental inspection that included initial visual and eddy current inspections of the MLG pivot assembly for cracks in the spline area at 3,000 hours in service with repeated inspections every 500 hours thereafter. The visual and eddy current inspections had not been nor were they required to be performed on the accident 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
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during maneuvering defining event
- Landing gear not configured during landing
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Failure
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › (general) › Owner/builder
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,100 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 4,930 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 4, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,381 hours in all; 14 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 2,235 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 10, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,755 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 20, 2011; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 SER (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sun State Aviation INC
The flight
- Departed from: ISM Kissimmee FL at 9:45 pm
- Destination: ISM Kissimmee FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 6,001 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 pm from ISM
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.