Cessna 172P N62112 accident near Clarksville, Tennessee

Probable cause

The flight instructor’s inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane, which allowed the partially secured engine cowl to separate in flight.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and student pilot, who was on his second instructional flight, departed the airport and climbed to 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) before leveling off. Suddenly, the top engine cowling partially detached, blocking the view of both pilots. The flight instructor declared an emergency and returned to the airport for landing. During the landing attempt with reduced visibility, the airplane touched down hard, exited the paved runway surface, and impacted terrain. The left wing sustained damage to the aileron and spar.

The operator stated that the airplane was out of service in maintenance for a broken oil servicing door. The instructor reported that the airplane was not listed as being out of service for maintenance and that he checked it out before he conducted, “a brief preflight inspection.”

Postaccident examination of the airplane showed that the engine cowling detached with 50% of the fasteners unserviceable due to worn receivers. A proper preflight inspection of the airplane, which is the responsibility of the pilot in command (in this case, the flight instructor), would have revealed the engine cowl anomaly.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA25LA114 for the full record.