# Accident 19990121000649A: Cessna 152, Phoenix, AZ, January 21, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 21, 1999, 16:38 local time - Place: Phoenix, AZ - Airport: Phoenix-Deer Valley Municipal Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.6804° N, 112.0901° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6804&lon=-112.0901&mi=10 - Aircraft: N96640, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N96640-1999-03-29) (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: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 503 total, 330 in this make and model, 175 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA079](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA079) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990121000649A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. STUDENT PILOT WAS PRACTICING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED A DUST DEVIL AFTER THE 4TH LANDING AND THE ACFT FLIPPED OVER ON THE RWY. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19) ON JANUARY 21, 1999, AT 1638 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 152, N96640, OPERATED BY WESTWIND AVIATION ACADEMY, NOSED OVER WHILE TAXIING FROM LANDING ON RUNWAY 25R AT THE DEER VALLEY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, PHOENIX, ARIZONA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. NEITHER THE COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR NOR THE STUDENT PILOT WAS INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE DEER VALLEY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT ABOUT 1500. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI) REPORTED THAT HE DECIDED TO COMPLETE THE INSTRUCTIONAL LESSON AFTER FLYING IN THE LOCAL AREA DURING WHICH THREE TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS WERE PERFORMED. THE CFI WAS AWARE THAT THE LOCAL WIND WAS REPORTED AS 330 DEGREES, 35 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS. THE CFI STATED THAT HE AND HIS STUDENT OBSERVED A NEARBY DUST DEVIL AS THEY TAXIED OFF THE RUNWAY. THE STUDENT SAID THAT THE DUST DEVIL APPEARED TO CHANGED ITS DIRECTION OF TRAVEL, AND BOTH HE AND THE CFI WERE HANDLING THE FLIGHT CONTROLS. SUDDENLY, CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE WAS LOST AND IT NOSED OVER. ACCORDING TO THE LOCAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER, AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT PEAK WIND GUSTS WERE OBSERVED AT 84 KNOTS. (.4)THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI) REPORTED THAT HE DECIDED TO COMPLETE THE INSTRUCTIONAL LESSON WITH HIS 25-HOUR STUDENT PILOT AFTER FLYING IN THE LOCAL AREA AND PERFORMING THREE TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS. THE CFI INDICATED THAT HE OBSERVED A DUST DEVIL NEAR THE AIRPORT WHILE ON BASE LEG, BUT ITS PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPLANE'S PLANNED COURSE DID NOT LOOK CLOSE ENOUGH TO RESULT IN HIS ABORTING THE APPROACH AND LANDING. THE CFI STATED HE BELIEVED THAT IF HE HURRIED UP HE COULD LAND BEFORE THE DUST DEVIL BECAME A FACTOR. AFTER LANDING WITHOUT MISHAP, THE CREW TURNED OFF THE RUNWAY AND THE DUST DEVIL CONTACTED THE AIRPLANE. CONTROL WAS LOST CONTROL AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. (-23)INSTRUCTOR HAD JUST CONCLUDED THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT DUE TO INCREASING GUSTY WINDS. WHILE WAITING FOR TAXI CLEARANCE AFTER LANDING THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVERTAKEN FORM THE REAR BY A LARGE DUST DEVIL AND FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN ONTO THE TAXIWAY. EXISTENCE OF THE DUST DEVIL WAS CONFIRMED BY DVT TOWER PERSONEL WHO OBSERVED THE ACCIDENT AS IT OCCURRED. BOTH THE STUDENT AND THE INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT THEY HAD NOT ENCOUNTERED ANY DIFFICULTIES UP TO THE TIME THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLIPPED OVER. ## 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 LAX99LA079](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA079), Jan 21, 1999: Cessna 152 (N96640), Phoenix, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The CFI's loss of airplane control upon encountering a dust devil due to his improper in-flight decision to land in proximity to the observed adverse weather conditions. 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.