# Accident 19971221039279A: Cessna 152, Spring City, PA, December 21, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 21, 1997, 14:50 local time
- Place: Spring City, PA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1705° N, 75.5409° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1705&lon=-75.5409&mi=10
- Aircraft: N22LU, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N22LU-1998-09-10) (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: 287 total, 161 in this make and model, 1 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA048](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA048) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971221039279A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED UND UNK CIRC, THE 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED, VINCENT TOWNSHIP, PA. (-23) LOST CONTROL IMPACTED 50 DEGREES NOSE DOWN AT FULL POWER.            (.4)THE PRIVATE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE ON A LOCAL FLIGHT, AND A FEW MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE FLYING LEVEL ABOUT 1,000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND..  THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A POWER REDUCTION, A PITCH UP OF THE NOSE, AND WHAT THE WITNESS SAID APPEARED TO BE AN ENTRY INTO A STALL.  THE LEFT WING ROTATED 90 DEGREES DOWN, FOLLOWED BY THE NOSE WHICH DROPPED DOWN, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS POINTED TO THE GROUND.  THE AIRPLANE ROTATED ONCE ON ITS AXIS, AND THEN STOPPED ROTATING, BUT WAS STILL POINTED DOWN AND ACCELERATING.  THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE STARTED TO PULL UP, BUT THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND PRIOR TO RECOVERY FROM THE MANEUVER.  THE WITNESS REPORTED THAT AFTER THE POWER REDUCTION, HE DID NOT HEAR THE ENGINE, BUT DID HEAR WIND NOISE.  NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND.  THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS WERE BENT DOWN, AND THE WINGS WERE BOWED UP.

## 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 NYC98FA048](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA048), Dec 21, 1997: Cessna 152 (N22LU), Spring City, PA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.

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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