Probable cause
The airplane's collision with water for reasons that could not be determined because the wreckage was not located.
NTSB analysis
The flight instructor and commercial pilot departed their home airport for a local, night instructional flight. Shortly after departure, the pilot contacted an air traffic controller and stated that he needed to return to the airport; he did not specify why. The pilot made no further communications. A search was initiated, and, several days after the accident, the two pilots' bodies were located in a lake; the airplane was not located. The reason for the airplane's collision with the water could not be determined.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN15FAMS1 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Nov 13, 2014
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Night, dark
Cessna 172K
- N-number
- N46707
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1968
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.