Cessna 172R accident near Lawrence, Massachusetts, April 9, 2001
On April 9, 2001 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172R, registered N2462T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lawrence, Massachusetts (Lawrence Municipal Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 9, 2001 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lawrence, Massachusetts · Lawrence Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172R · all 172Rs on the register
- Registration
- N2462T · registry record · serial 17280834
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings in the traffic pattern. He performed two landings uneventfully, and during the third landing the student pilot "flared too early," the airplane bounced twice, and then hit hard on the nose gear. The nose gear sheared off, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. No mechanical malfunctions of the airplane were observed. The student pilot reported 55 hours of total flight experience in 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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 55 hours in all; 55 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 501.9 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2001; 75.2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LWM Lawrence MA at 5:00 pm
- Destination: LWM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 pm from LWM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.