Tuskegee, AL, USA
N858AU
TEXTRON AVIATION INC 172S
On October 27, 2022, about 1605 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S, N858AU, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tuskegee, Alabama. The flight instructor and private pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor reported that he was assessing the abilities of the private pilot, who was a transfer student. They were practicing short field landings and the first landing was uneventful. During the second landing attempt, about 10 to 40 feet above ground level, the airplane’s airspeed decreased, and the sink rate increased. The flight instructor applied full throttle input for a go-around; however, the engine did not respond, and the airplane landed hard on the runway. The hard landing resulted in a collapse of the left main landing gear, nose landing gear, and an excursion off the left side of the runway into a grass area. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector also revealed substantial damage to the firewall, engine mount, and lower fuselage. The flight instructor further stated that after the accident, another flight instructor stated that the same engine issue happened to her during a go-around the day prior, and that she had reported it to the head of the operator’s maintenance department. The wreckage was retained for further examination.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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