# Accident 19960526011509A: Cessna 152, Mount Pleasant, MI, May 26, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 26, 1996, 12:30 local time
- Place: Mount Pleasant, MI
- Airport: Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.5903° N, 84.7710° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.5903&lon=-84.7710&mi=10
- Aircraft: N68610, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N68610-1997-04-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 152
- Reported engine: LYC O235L2C
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 104 total, 103 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI96FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA172) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960526011509A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CRASHED INTO HIGHWAY MEDIAN. (.4)THE AIRPLANE CRASHED IN AN AREA THAT CORRESPONDED TO THE BASE LEG OF THE TRAFFIC PATTERN TO AN UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT. THREE WITNESS, WHO OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE JUST BEFORE IMPACT, SAID THAT IT WAS AT LOW ALTITUDE WITH SLOW AIRSPEED, WHEN IT ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT AND CRASHED. NONE OF THE THREE WITNESSES HEARD THE SOUND OF THE ENGINE, ALTHOUGH ALL THREE WERE IN VEHICLES WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. BOTH THE PILOT AND THE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED DURING THE ACCIDENT. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO PREIMPACT ANOMALIES WITH THE AIRPLANE. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER REVEALED EVIDENCE OF ROTATIONAL DAMAGE DURING IMPACT. ACCORDING TO A MEDICAL EXAMINER, THE PILOT 'HAD SIGNIFICANT HEART DISEASE, SUGGESTIVE OF HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, WHICH CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUDDEN DEATH.'                        (-23) WITNESS SAY AIRCRAFT WAS LOW IN PATTERN, DOVE STRAIGHT DOWN TURNING BASE/FINAL APPROACH RNWY 9 WITH SLIGHT ROLL TO RT. AIRCRAFT STRUCK GROUND 70 DEGREES NOSE DOWN SSE HDG (130 DEGREES) IN MEDIAN OF US 27 WITH RT WING TIP ON SHOULDER OF SOUTHBOUND LANE, 1/4 MI SHORT OF RUNWAY 9 AT MOP.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI96FA172](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA172), May 26, 1996: Cessna 152 (N68610), Mount Pleasant, MI, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: loss of aircraft control by the pilot, due to cardiac arrest (heart attack).

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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