Cessna 172S N121CW

Summary

On 30 July 2025 at about 15:28 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N121CW, operated by Aerostar Training Services LLC, was involved in an accident near Kissimmee, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

30 July 2025 at 15:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Kissimmee, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.2576, -81.4522

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N121CW

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Aerostar Training Services LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kissimmee → Orlando

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA281

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On July 30, 2025, at 11:28 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N121CW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Kissimmee, Florida. The private pilot and flight instructor were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was to provide commercial instruction for the private pilot. The instructor reported that during the preflight, the airplane had sufficient fuel, and the engine had sufficient oil for the cross-country flight. The pilot stated that the taxi, runup, and takeoff were all normal. After departing the Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM), Orlando, Florida, while climbing through 1,900 ft mean sea level (msl), both pilots reported feeling engine vibrations, and shortly after, heard a loud bang, and the windshield became covered with engine oil. The instructor took control of the airplane and began to head back to ISM; however, after determining that they had insufficient altitude to return to the airport, they elected to perform a forced landing on a road. The pilots reported their visibility was significantly reduced due to the oil covering the windshield. The pilot receiving instruction looked out the side window, and the instructor utilized her peripheral vision to guide the airplane onto the road. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted a car, and the airplane came to rest on the side of the road. A postaccident examination by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that the fuselage sustained substantial damage and the engine had experienced a catastrophic internal engine failure. A large portion of the top crankcase had broken free from the rest of the crankcase, and the no. 2 connecting rod had released from its crankshaft journal. The wreckage was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.