# Accident 19981115031789A: Cessna 152, Caldwell, NJ, November 15, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 15, 1998, 11:46 local time - Place: Caldwell, NJ - Airport: Essex County Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 40.8752° N, 74.2814° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ESSEX COUNTY (CDW), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.8752&lon=-74.2814&mi=10 - Aircraft: N89101, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N89101-2002-01-08) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 152 - Reported engine: LYC O235L2C - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Student - Pilot flight hours: 145 total, 145 in this make and model, 37 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD99LA016](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA016) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981115031789A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT LANDED. LOST CONTROL, AND SPUN INTO THE GRASS NORTH OF RWY 27.(.19) ON NOVEMBER 15, 1998, AT 1146 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 152, N89101, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AFTER A LOSS OF CONTROL DURING LANDING AT THE ESSEX COUNTY AIRPORT (CDW), CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY. THE CERTIFICATED STUDENT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT CDW, AT 0950. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT SAID THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO PRACTICE FLIGHT MANEUVERS FOR A FLIGHT EVALUATION HE HAD SCHEDULED FOR LATER IN THE MONTH. HE DEPARTED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN, FLEW TO A LOCAL TRAINING AREA, COMPLETED THE PLANNED TRAINING, AND RETURNED FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 27. THE PILOT SAID THAT PRIOR TO DEPARTURE HE OBTAINED WEATHER INFORMATION FROM DUATS, FLIGHT SERVICE, AND THE LOCAL ATIS. HE SAID: "EVERYTHING WENT FINE. I WENT OUT AND DID ALL MY TRAINING. WHEN I CAME BACK, CONDITIONS WERE DIFFERENT, THEY WERE GUSTY. MY APPROACH SPEED WAS 60, BUT MY GROUND SPEED WAS SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWER. WHEN I TOUCHED DOWN, A GUST LIFTED ME. I TRIED TO DO A FULL POWER GO AROUND, BUT THE PLANE WOULDN'T CLIMB. IT JUST DESCENDED. WHEN I ADDED FULL POWER, THE NOSE WAS TOO HIGH - IT WOULDN'T CLIMB - IT JUST VEERED TO THE RIGHT AND STALLED. THE GUST GAVE IT A NOSE HIGH PITCH. I HAD 30 DEGREES OF FLAPS IN, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN TOO MUCH FLAPS FOR THAT KIND OF A GUST." WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT THE AIRWORTHINESS OF THE AIRPLANE, THE PILOT SAID, "THE AIRPLANE PERFORMED FINE, I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE AT ALL." THE PILOT REPORTED APPROXIMATELY 145 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE; 45 HOURS OF WHICH WERE SOLO. WINDS REPORTED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WERE FROM 300 DEGREES AT 12 KNOTS GUSTING TO 20 KNOTS. (-23)STUDENT PILOT TOOK OFF WHEN WIND WAS LIGHT. WHILE HE WAS FLYING (APX 2.00 HRS) THE WIND PICKED UP AND EXCEEDED THE SKILL LEVEL REQUIRED TO HANDLE IT BY THE STUDENT. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK LEFT WING, THEN RIGHT WING, THEN CARTWHEELED SIDEWAYS TO END UP IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION ADJACENT TO THE RUNWAY. (.4) THE STUDENT PILOT PRACTICED FLIGHT MANEUVERS FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS DURING THE LOCAL SOLO FLIGHT. DURING LANDING ON RUNWAY 27, THE PILOT SAID A GUST OF WIND LIFTED THE AIRPLANE TO A NOSE HIGH PITCH ATTITUDE. FULL POWER WAS APPLIED TO ABORT THE LANDING BUT THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT CLIMB. THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED AND COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN. THE STUDENT PILOT REPORTED THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL DEFICIENCIES WITH THE AIRPLANE. WINDS WERE REPORTED TO BE FROM 300 DEGREES AT 12 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 20. ## 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 IAD99LA016](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA016), Nov 15, 1998: Cessna 152 (N89101), Caldwell, NJ, substantial damage. Probable cause: the student's pilot's inadequate climb and his failure to maintain adequate altitude and clearance. A related factor was the wind gusts. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.