Cessna 172H N2782L

Summary

On 1 May 2024 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 172H registered N2782L, operated by Southern Seaplane, Inc., was involved in an accident near Belle Chasse, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 May 2024 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Belle Chasse, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Southern Seaplane Airport (65LA)

Coordinates

29.8200, -90.0200

Aircraft

Cessna 172H

Registration

N2782L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Southern Seaplane, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA186

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate landing flare by the flight instructor that resulted in a loss of directional control and impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that he and a student pilot were returning to the seaplane base after completing the student pilot’s instructional stage check for a commercial single-engine sea rating. During the final approach for landing, the flight instructor noticed the seaplane’s glide path flown by the student pilot was high and would require most of the waterway to land. The flight instructor took control of the seaplane to correct for the high glide path. After the flight instructor corrected the seaplane’s glide path, the seaplane touched down on the waterway, and the flight instructor applied left rudder control to keep the seaplane centered on the waterway. The seaplane continued to the right and struck a sand bank where it nosed over. The seaplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar. The flight instructor reported no preaccident failures or malfunctions with the seaplane that would have precluded normal operations. The flight instructor felt that the touch down attitude was flat resulting in an inadvertent water loop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.