NTSB CEN23LA154 — 2023-04-11 · Terrell, Texas, United States

Current FAA registration · N1221U

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 47 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19760414
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A05DAE

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1221U Cessna 172M None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial response.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that the student pilot was landing the airplane with a left crosswind. On touchdown, the airplane bounced, pitched up, and drifted toward the right side of the runway. The flight instructor told the student pilot to go around and then attempted to take control of the airplane. The airplane touched down in the grass, nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage, vertical stabilizer and rudder, and right wing strut. At the time of the accident, the airplane was landing on runway 18 with wind 100o at 7 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Instructor/check pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN23LA154.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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