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Congressional Air Cessna 172N accident

1 Jun 1992 · BROOKEVILLE, MD, United States

Cessna 172N and Cessna R182 · Accident: midair collision while maneuvering

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Event

NTSB case
NYC92FA093
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
3 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Charter & commuter
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Aircraft 1 · Cessna 172N

Aircraft type
Cessna 172
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N738YV
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, MDTo not recorded
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Midair collision
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Aircraft 2 · Cessna R182

Aircraft type
Cessna 182
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N4445R
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Baltimore, MDTo Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, MD
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
En route · cruise
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Midair collision
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command(cfi) › Distance, misjudged
  • Pilot in command(cfi) › In-flight planning/decision, improper
  • Pilot in command(cfi) › Visual lookout, inadequate
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Distance, misjudged
  • Pilot of other aircraft › In-flight planning/decision, improper
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Visual lookout, inadequate

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

CESSNA 172, N738TV, & CESSNA R182, N4445R, WERE BEING OPERD BY CONGRESSIONAL AIR AT MONTGOMERY COUNTY AIRPARK. THE 172 WAS RTRNG TO THE ARPT AT AN ALT OF 2500 FT DRG A DUAL TRNG FLT. THE R182 HAD DEPD FROM BALTIMORE & WAS ALSO INBOUND TO THE ARPT, BUT AT 1500 FT. THE CFI IN THE 172 ADZD THE R182 PLTS THAT HE WOULD CIRCLE A LANDFILL NEAR THE ARPT, THEN FOLLOW THE R182 TO THE ARPT. THE R182 PLT RPRTD HE SAW THE 172 PASSING IN FRONT OF HIS ACFT IN THE OPPOSITE DRCTN (AT A DSTC OF ABT 1/2 TO 3/4 MI); 'AFTER A MINUTE' HE LOOKED OUT THE RGT WINDOW & SAW THE 172 CONVERGING IN A DSCNDG RGT TURN. HE TRIED TO AVOID A COLLISION, BUT WAS UNABLE. THE 172 WENT INTO AN UNCTLD DSCNT & CRASHED; THE R182 PLT MADE A FORCED LNDG IN A WHEAT FLD. AN EXAM OF THE 172 REVEALED THAT ABT 3-1/2 FT OF THE LEFT OUTBOARD WING SECTION WAS MISSING. THIS SECTION WAS FOUND EMBEDDED IN THE RGT SIDE OF THE R182'S FUSELAGE, JUST BEHIND THE ENG.

Probable cause

IMPROPER INFLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION BY THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (PIC/CFI) IN THE CESSNA 172, HIS MISJUDGEMENT OF DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO AIRPLANES, AND INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT BY BOTH PILOTS IN THE CESSNA 172.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record NYC92FA093
Event ID
20001211X14946
Case number
NYC92FA093
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: a7cf39cea51cb552e19e25cb288d6c048d2a16631336ce00a7b5ea9934c780fc; retrieved 2026-09-18T13:58:37.919Z.