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ERA25LA138

2025-03-03 · Knoxville, Tennessee, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport TN98

Current FAA registration · N35411

Make / Model
CESSNA 172I
Year of manufacture
1968 · 57 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19721027
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3F63E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a truck while taxiing.

Factual narrative

While taxiing out for a solo flight, the student pilot misjudged his wingtip clearance with a parked truck. The airplane initially made contact with the outboard 2 ft of the right wing, then pivoted about 90° to the right while tipping to the left and contacting the ground with the propeller and left wingtip before coming to rest. The student pilot was not injured, but the airplane was substantially damaged. According to the student pilot, he was taxiing at 10 to 15 mph, when the right wing impacted the truck. He stated that “It was completely an act of my misjudgment” and that next time, he would not only proceed with more space than necessary, but he would use the most extreme caution “slowing down to a snail’s pace.” Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Ground vehicle-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA138.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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