Cessna 172 accident near Winter Haven, Florida, August 22, 1984
On August 22, 1984 at about 1:00 pm local time, a Cessna 172, registered N737LZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Winter Haven, Florida. 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 22, 1984 · about 1:00 pm local time
- Place
- Winter Haven, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N737LZ · registry record · serial 17269513
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT LANDED ON GLASSY WATER IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE AND NOSED OVER. THE CFI WHO WAS CHECKING OUT AN APPLICANT FOR A SEAPLANE RATING SAID HE WAS PREPARING TO CALL FOR OR ACTUALLY PULLED THE NOSE UP AS THE ACFT FLOATS HIT THE WATER AND WENT UNDER. ACCORDING TO THE CFI THE WATER HAD ABRUPTLY CHANGED TO A GLASSY CONDITION AS THEY FLARED FOR THE LANDING.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 25,625 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,206 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 7, 1984; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,220 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:52 pm from LAL, 15 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.