Cessna 172N N2140E accident near Wabash, Indiana

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed during the landing and certificated flight instructor's failure to execute a go-around.

NTSB analysis

The certificated flight instructor (CFI) and student had been practicing touch-and-go landings and were planning a full-stop landing. The airplane touched down on the grass airstrip slightly faster than normal and approximately 100 feet beyond the approach end of the runway. The CFI took authority of the airplane's controls and applied brakes. As the airplane approached the end of the runway, the CFI applied left rudder to avoid a ditch in front of the airplane. Subsequently, the right main landing gear went into the ditch and the airplane flipped over. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent. The CFI reported that there were no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane. He further stated that they should have landed on the adjacent asphalt runway or performed a go-around after overshooting the final approach leg during the landing.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN11CA004 for the full record.