# Accident 19980315003369A: Cessna 152, Pittsburgh, PA, March 15, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 15, 1998, 09:40 local time
- Place: Pittsburgh, PA
- Airport: Allegheny County
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.3590° N, 79.9009° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3590&lon=-79.9009&mi=10
- Aircraft: N67893, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N67893-2000-05-23) (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: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 82 total, 82 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98FA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA037) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980315003369A

## Narrative

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

OBSERVED LOW AND SLOW. STALLED. DOVE INTO GROND. (.4)THE STUDENT PILOT WAS IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN PRACTICING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS AND HAD COMPLETED ONE LANDING.  THE AIRPLANE WAS ON THE DOWNWIND LEG FOR THE SECOND LANDING WHEN THE CONTROL TOWER LOST RADIO CONTACT WITH THE PILOT.  THE PILOT OF ANOTHER AIRPLANE IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN LOCATED THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE AT THE POINT WHERE THE PILOT WOULD TURN FROM THE DOWNWIND LEG TO THE BASE LEG.  A WITNESS, NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE, SAID HE SAW A SMALL AIRPLANE IN A 'STRAIGHT DOWN DIVE.'  THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL POSITION AND CAME TO REST INVERTED.  POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY STRUCTURAL OR MECHANICAL ANOMALIES.  TOXICOLOGICAL TESTS OF THE PILOT REVEALED 0.015 (UG/ML, UG/G) DIPHENHYDRAMINE IN BLOOD, 0.012 (UG/ML, UG/G) DOXYLAMINE IN BLOOD, AND UNQUANTIFIED LEVELS OF TRIMETHOPRIM, PSEUDOEPHEDRINE AND PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE IN BLOOD.  DIPHENHYDRAMINE AND DOXYLAMINE ARE SEDATING OVER-THE-COUNTER ANTIHISTAMINES, AND THE LEVELS DETECTED IN BLOOD INDICATE THEY MAY HAVE BEEN USED BY THE PILOT MORE THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT.  PSEUDOEPHEDRINE IS A DEC                          ONGESTANT, PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE IS A METABOLITE OF PSEUDOEPHEDRINE, AND TRIMETHOPRIM IS A PRESCRIPTION ANTIBIOTIC. IN THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATION, CFR 14 91.17, IT STATES: 'NO PERSON MAY ACT OR ATTEMPT TO ACT AS CREW MEMBER OF A CIVIL AIRCRAFT...WHILE USING ANY DRUG THAT AFFECTS THE PERSON'S FACULTIES IN ANY WAY CONTRARY TO SAFETY... .'

## 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 IAD98FA037](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA037), Mar 15, 1998: Cessna 152 (N67893), West Mifflin, PA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A related factor was the pilot's impairment due to the use of drugs.

## Other reports on N67893 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19880420041489I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19880420041489I), Apr 20, 1988: Cessna 152 (N67893), Akron, OH. Lost student pilot without radio communictions landed on closed runway. No damage.

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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