# Accident 20000531011249A: Cessna 152, Palm Springs, CA, May 31, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 31, 2000, 12:09 local time - Place: Palm Springs, CA - Airport: Palm Springs Regional Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.8419° N, 116.5159° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8419&lon=-116.5159&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5538M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5538M-2000-08-25) (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: 363 total, 33 in this make and model, 109 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00FA209](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA209) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000531011249A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)^PRIVACY DATA OMIT^AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE FLIGHT SCHOOL AT PALM SPRINGS, LOCATED AT PALM SPRINGS AIRPORT, PALM SPRINGS, CA, WAS RETURNING FROM THERMAL AIRPORT, THERMAL, CA, WITH HIS STUDENT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AN ITALIAN CITIZEN, WITH INTENTION TO LAND AT PALM SPRINGS. ^PRIVACY ^WAS INSTRUCTING IN A CESSNA 152, N5538M, AND HAD RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM THE PALM SPRINGS TOWER TO LAND ON RUNWAY 13R. ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 13R, THE TOWER ASKED^PRIVACY ^TO PERFORM S TURNS IN ORDER TO GIVE A FALCON, THAT WAS LANDING ON THE RUNWAY, MORE TIME FOR THEIR DEPATURE. SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING THE AIRCRAFT MAKE AN ABRUPT LEFT TURN AT 250 TO 300 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL). THIS TURN CONTINUED FOR 360 OR 720 DEGREES OF ROTATION, THEN NOSE DROPPED ANT THE AIRCRAFT DOVE TO THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED ON A RESIDENTAIL STREET ONE EIGHTH OF A MILE OFF THE END OF RUNWAY 13R. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE SOLO OCCUPANTS, RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. NO CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANNED FOR THE PILOT SINCE HE WAS FATALLY INJURED. (.4)WHILE ON BASE LEG TURNING TO FINAL APPROACH AT THE DESERT AIRPORT, THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER TO PERFORM S-TURNS FOR SPACING DUE TO ANOTHER AIRCRAFT STOPPED IN POSITION ON THE RUNWAY AND STARTING THE TAKEOFF ROLL. WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT'S WINGS ROCK STEEPLY RIGHT AND LEFT AND THEN THE AIRCRAFT DOVE NOSE-FIRST TO THE GROUND FROM ABOUT 250 FEET AGL. THE RECENTLY CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR HAD WORKED AS AN INSTRUCTOR FOR ABOUT 1 MONTH AND HAD 363 TOTAL FLIGHT HOURS. THE FLIGHT WAS THE STUDENT'S FIRST FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, ALTHOUGH HE HAD ABOUT 60 HOURS EXPERIENCE IN HELICOPTERS AND THE FOREIGN EQUIVALENT OF A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE. WITNESSES SAID THAT SURFACE WIND VARIES GREATLY IN THE AREA NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE. TWO WITNESSES, ONE LOCATED 1/2 BLOCK SOUTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE AND THE OTHER LOCATED TWO BLOCKS EAST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED THE SURFACE WIND WAS CALM. A THIRD WITNESS, LOCATED TWO BLOCKS NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED THE WIND WAS BLOWING ABOUT 40 KNOTS. THIS THIRD WITNESS REPORTED THAT WHEN SHE ARRIVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE, SOON AFTER IT HAPPENED, AND GOT OUT OF HER CAR, THE WIND BLEW HER HAT OFF AND ACROSS THE STREET. TEN MINUTES LATER THE WIND SOPPED AND IT BECAME COMPLETELY STILL. AT THE AIRPORT, ABOUT 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF THE ACCIDENT LOCATION, THE SURFACE WIND REMAINED LESS THAN 12 KNOTS IN THE PERIOD FROM 2 HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT TO ABOUT 2 HOURS AFTER IT. SEVERAL PILOTS REPORTED THAT WIND SHEAR IS COMMON IN THE AREA DUE TO TERRAIN INDUCED EDDIES FROM NEARBY MOUNTAINS. THE AIRPORT DID NOT HAVE A LOW-LEVEL WIND SHEAR ALERT SYSTEM. ONE WITNESS REPORTED THE ENGINE WAS 'SPUTTERING' AND ANOTHER SAID IT WAS SILENT; HOWEVER, AT THE ACCIDENT SITE THE PROPELLER EXHIBITED DEEP LEADING EDGE DAMAGE, TORSIONAL TWISTING, AND CHORDWISE STRIATIONS ON THE FRONT FACE. NO MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WERE FOUND. ## 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 LAX00FA209](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA209), May 31, 2000: Cessna 152 (N5538M), Palm Springs, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot/flight instructor to maintain sufficient airspeed to prevent the aircraft stalling and spinning. Factors in the accident were terrain induced windshear and sudden wind shift… ## Other reports on N5538M (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19991011029539I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991011029539I), Oct 11, 1999: Cessna 152 (N5538M), Palm Springs, CA, Minor damage. (-23) Student pilot was on solo flight. During landing phase nose landing gear sheared off top portion of fork arms, caused minor skin damage (tear) on left… 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.