Cessna 172 N505LP accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland, August 21, 2025
Cessna 172, registration N505LP, operated by WIFA (WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ACADEMY) LLC, was involved in an accident near Gaithersburg, Maryland on August 21, 2025. The NTSB lists the highest injury level as none. Case ERA25LA311 is completed.
ADS-B receivers recorded 10 minutes of the flight after departing the Gaithersburg/Montgomery Cnty area (KGAI), reaching a maximum of 1,900 ft. The last recorded position was at 23:26 UTC, at 500 ft and 76 knots, descending at 128 feet per minute, about 0 km from Gaithersburg/Montgomery Cnty (KGAI).
The nearest weather report, from KGAI (0 km away), showed wind variable° at 3 knots, visibility 6 miles or more, no ceiling reported (VFR conditions).
The aircraft is a Cessna 172S registered in United States (Mode S A64D8B).
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 21, 2025
- Location
- Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172
- Registration
- N505LP
- Operator
- WIFA (WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT ACADEMY) LLC
- Injuries
- None
- NTSB case
- ERA25LA311 (Completed)
- Departure area
- Gaithersburg/Montgomery Cnty (KGAI)
- Nearest airport
- Gaithersburg/Montgomery Cnty (KGAI)
- Recorded flight
- 10 min, max 1,900 ft
- Last recorded position
- 23:26 UTC, 500 ft, 76 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.
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Sources: NTSB case ERA25LA311; ADS-B flight data from adsb.lol (ODbL); weather from NOAA / Iowa Environmental Mesonet and Open-Meteo.