Loss of control in flight: Cessna 172P Skyhawk II, N51204, Purdue Aviation Inc, accident occurred on January 28, 2026, near Lafayette, Indiana

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N51204

- History of Flight:
On January 28, 2026, at about 1006 local time, a Cessna 172P Skyhawk II, N51204, registered to Purdue Aviation LLC, sustained substantial damage following an inflight loss of control event near Lafayette, Indiana. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The local training flight originated from the Purdue University Airport (LAF/KLAF), Lafayette, Indiana, at 0947 LT.

The FAA reported: "Aircraft declared an emergency due to the airspeed indicator reading during an engine off stall recovery." The NTSB has opened an investigation (case number CEN26LA106, and gave the event category as "Loss of control in flight").

According to ADS-B data, at 1006 LT, the airplane entered a stall practice maneuver from 3,700 ft. The airplane descended to about 3,500 ft and had a reported descent rate of 1500 feet per minute (fpm) at one point, but recovery was uneventful. The airplane proceeded to climb to about 3,900 ft. At 1007:41, the airplane entered a second stall maneuver, this time, the airplane descended rapidly to about 1,800 ft, and at one point had a reported descent rate of -9472 feet per minute (fpm) and 158 knots (groundspeed). The airplane proceeded to climb to about 2,500 ft, before continuing to climb north and back towards KLAF.

Figure 1: ADS-B track ran through Flysto

Figure 2: First Practice Stall

Figure 3: Event Stall, note that flysto misunderstood the given data as a takeoff/landing

Figure 4: Groundspeed during event stall

Figure 4: Vertical Speed during event stall

Below is the airspeed limitation chart as found in the Cessna 172P Pilot Operating Handbook (POH):

According to Section 4:

"STALLS

The stall characteristics are conventional and aural warning is provided by a stall warning horn which sounds between 5 and 10 knots above the stall in all configurations.

Power-off stall speeds at maximum weight for both forward and aft C.G. positions are presented in Section 5"

Figure 1: POH Airspeed Chart