Cessna 172R accident near Ormond Beach, Florida, April 9, 2001
On April 9, 2001 at about 1:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172R, registered N436ER, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ormond Beach, Florida (Ormond Beach 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight instructor's inadequate supervision and the dual student's improper use of brakes which resulted in the loss of directional control and collision with a wind sock. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's failure to follow procedures/directives.
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 1:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ormond Beach, Florida · Ormond Beach Municipal Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172R · all 172Rs on the register
- Registration
- N436ER · no longer on the register · serial 17280659
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student said he had some difficulty with the traffic pattern and that during the landing as he started reducing power and initiating the flare, it seemed like it was a high flare, and they hit the runway hard. He said the instructor told him to go around, so he gave the airplane full power and tried to liftoff, but he "blew to the left, and headed off the runway." The instructor stated that she immediately told the student to go around, but as he added power, the airplane headed hard to the left, and did not liftoff. She said she yelled "my controls" but the left wing hit the wind sock. She said she did not know what caused the airplane to turn so severely, and further stated that she taught the student "CRAMB, CLIMB, CLEAN, COMUNICATE," when executing go-arounds, and the "CLEAN" part of the sequence had not been performed, since the climb had not been established. She said that full flaps were still down, and had been down before, during, and after the event. The instructor said that the student has large feet and she had warned him several times about making sure they were far enough back on the floor so that he would not hit the brakes accidentally. A functional check of the aircraft did not identify any preaccident failure or malfunction to the aircraft or any if its systems. The information handbook for the Cessna 172R, Section 4 specifies that the wing flaps must be retracted to 20 degrees immediately after the application of full throttle while executing balked landings.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 470 hours in all; 192 in this make and model; 131 in the last 90 days; 51 in the last 30 days; 345 as pilot in command; 118 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 5, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 30 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 0 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,269.8 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 4, 2001; 21.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
The flight
- Departed from: OMN Ormond Beach FL at 12:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,701 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from DAB, 10 miles away
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.
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.