NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA25LA087
Registry · N7085G
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172K
Year of manufacture
1969 · 55 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19691008
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A97554
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation, and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision, which resulted in the subsequent overstress of the airplane during recovery.
Factual narrative
The instrument training flight was conducted in instrument meteorological conditions. The private pilot receiving instruction said that he initiated a “slight turn to the left which spatially disoriented me. We ended up in a spiral, and then my instructor took over and recovered [the airplane].” The flight instructor gave a similar account and stated that he “allowed the situation to deteriorate too far before taking control.” After landing, a visual inspection of the airplane revealed substantial damage in the form of “plastic deformation” to both wings consistent with overstress. The flight instructor reported that prior to the accident the airplane required a “1-3 degree” input in the roll axis to maintain the desired heading. When the flight instructor was asked if he felt the discrepancy was significant enough to declare an emergency, abort the mission, or perform a precautionary landing, and he replied, “No. We noticed it and briefed it, but no. It was noticed, but not a grounding condition.” Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Perception/orientation/illusion-Spatial disorientation-Pilot
- — Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Wing structure-(general)-Capability exceeded
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2024_ERA25LA087.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (spatial disorientation). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Design, Implementation, and Testing of Spatial Disorientation Scenarios in a Modified Hexapod Motion Simulator
Abstract Investigations into aviation accidents aim to identify root causes and enhance safety. Despite advancements in safety measures, technology, and education, general aviation accident rates rema…
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2022 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Spatial Disorientation
Safety advisor on the perceptual illusions that cause spatial disorientation: the leans, graveyard spiral, somatogravic and somatogyral illusions, false horizon, and Coriolis.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Evaluation of Low Cost, User-Centered Alerting Devices for the Mitigation of Flight Crew Spatial Disorientation
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting research into technologies which have the potential to reduce flight crew Spatial Disorientation (SD).
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Presentation
Pre-Flight Training of Autonomic Responses for Mitigating the Effects of Spatial Disorientation During Spaceflight
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation, motion sickness, and degraded performance to astronauts during re-entry and landing …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Other
The Role of Spatial Disorientation in Fatal General Aviation Accidents
In-flight Spatial Disorientation (SD) in pilots is a serious threat to aviation safety. Indeed, SD may play a much larger role in aviation accidents than the approximate 6-8% reported by the National …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) Mitigates the Effects of Spatial Disorientation to Simulated Orion Spacecraft Re-Entry: Individual Differences
NASA has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation to future astronauts during re-entry of the proposed Orion spacecraft.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗