Cessna 172 N1159K

Summary

On 29 January 2025 at about 02:05 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N1159K, operated by Cavu Aero LLC, was involved in an accident near Kennesaw, Georgia, 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

29 January 2025 at 02:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Kennesaw, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Cobb County Intl/McCollum Fld (RYY)

Coordinates

34.0135, -84.5881

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N1159K

Category

Airplane

Year built

2006

Engines

1

Operator

Cavu Aero LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA25LA118

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate glide path and the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring of the landing approach, which resulted in the airplane contacting the ground short of the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, the student pilot had previously completed three-night landings to a full stop and taxi back during the dual instructional flight. On the fourth attempt, the instructor elected to simulate a loss of engine power. While on final approach, the student pilot aligned the airplane with the runway centerline, and the flight instructor thought that the airplane would be able to reach the runway threshold. As the airplane approached the runway, the instructor described that the airplane was in a “flat position” and struck the ground, short of the runway. The nose landing gear was displaced upwards and aft which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s lower firewall. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot and instructor stated that they believed that the runway end identifier lights were not operating during their flight and that only the two outer left and right green lights were illuminated for the entirety of the flight, including the preceding three landings, which factored into their depth perception for touchdown. During correspondence with the student pilot following the accident, he provided an annotated aerial image where he circled the lights he believed to be inoperative at the time of the accident. According to the airport manager, the lights referenced by the student, which appeared to be the runway end and edge lighting, were operational at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.