Cessna 172R N172FW accident near Princeton, New Jersey, August 9, 2023

Cessna 172R, registration N172FW, operated by RARITAN VALLEY FLYING SCHOOL, was involved in an accident near Princeton, New Jersey on August 9, 2023. The NTSB lists the highest injury level as none. Case ERA23LA339 is completed.

ADS-B receivers recorded 17 minutes of the flight, reaching a maximum of 1,300 ft. The last recorded position was at 12:52 UTC, at 700 ft and 66 knots, descending at 384 feet per minute, about 21 km from Trenton/Mercer Arpt (KTTN).

The nearest weather report, from KTTN (21 km away), showed wind variable° at 6 knots, visibility 6 miles or more, no ceiling reported (VFR conditions).

The aircraft is a Cessna 172R registered in United States (Mode S A1212D).

This page reconstructs the flight from public ADS-B data for information only. The NTSB report is the authority on what happened and why.

Key facts

Date
August 9, 2023
Location
Princeton, New Jersey
Aircraft
Cessna 172R
Registration
N172FW
Operator
RARITAN VALLEY FLYING SCHOOL
Injuries
None
NTSB case
ERA23LA339 (Completed)
Nearest airport
Trenton/Mercer Arpt (KTTN)
Recorded flight
17 min, max 1,300 ft
Last recorded position
12:52 UTC, 700 ft, 66 kt

3D flight replay

Replay the recorded flight in 3D with the weather, light and terrain at the time, flight instruments reconstructed from the aircraft's ADS-B transmissions, and automatically detected events.

Related accidents

Sources: NTSB case ERA23LA339; ADS-B flight data from adsb.lol (ODbL); weather from NOAA / Iowa Environmental Mesonet and Open-Meteo.