Cessna 172P accident near La Belle, Florida, October 16, 2005
On October 16, 2005 at about 5:25 pm local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N99173, was substantially damaged in an accident near La Belle, Florida (La Belle Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the initial takeoff climb, resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin and uncontrolled descent to ground impact. A contributing factor was the failure of the wing flap control, which resulted in the flaps being stuck in the full down position.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 16, 2005 · about 5:25 pm local time
- Place
- La Belle, Florida · La Belle Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N99173 · no longer on the register · serial 17276415
- 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 making a solo cross country flight. Witnesses observed the airplane on the initial takeoff climb after a touch and go landing. One witness reported that from an estimated altitude of 150 feet, the airplane stalled, drifted to the left, and impacted the ground. Another witness reported that when he initially saw the airplane, it was at an altitude of about 350 feet and appeared normal. He diverted his attention momentarily, looked back and saw the airplane in a nose-low attitude. The airplane completed 3 to 3.5 turns of a spin before he lost sight of it. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. The wing flaps were found extended to the full down or 30 degree position. Examination of the flap selector/indicator assembly revealed impact marks indicating that the flap selector handle was positioned at about the 10 degree position and the flap indicator position was near 30 degrees. The student pilot's flight instructor reported that five days before the accident, he had encountered a discrepancy with the airplane where the flaps would not retract from a 20 degree down position. The flight instructor stated that he "moved the flap lever to retract the flaps, and the flaps and the flaps position indicator did not move." He further stated that he "reset the flap lever to the original position and tired again. This time the flaps and flaps position indicator moved normally." The flight instructor did not report the discrepancy to maintenance personnel. The airplane was flown 10 times between this flight and the accident flight with no reported duplications of this discrepancy.
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: 44 hours in all; 44 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 6 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,713 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 2005; 66 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KFPR Fort Pierce FL at 4:27 pm
- Destination: X14 La Belle FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 3,410 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from KRSW, 22 miles away
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.