# Accident 20010418010209A: Cessna 152, Lagrange, KY, April 18, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 18, 2001, 20:00 local time
- Place: Lagrange, KY
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.4150° N, 85.4211° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.4150&lon=-85.4211&mi=10
- Aircraft: N95655, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N95655-2011-06-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 152
- Reported engine: LYC O235*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 35 total, 35 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC01FA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01FA102) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010418010209A

## Narrative

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

(-23)SEE NARRATIVE NYC01FA102 (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON APRIL 18, 2001, ABOUT 2000 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 152, N95655, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT NOSE-DIVED INTO TERRAIN DURING LOW-LEVEL MANEUVERING OVER LA GRANGE, KENTUCKY. THE CERTIFICATED STUDENT PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT, WHICH ORIGINATED AT BOWMAN FIELD (LOU), LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. THE SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91.  ACCORDING TO SEVERAL WITNESSES, THE PILOT WAS AIRBORNE WHEN HE CALLED HIS BROTHER'S HOME VIA CELL PHONE, TO ADVISE HE'D SOON BE FLYING OVERHEAD. THE AIRPLANE ARRIVED IN THE ACCIDENT AREA AND BEGAN CIRCLING, AND WAS ALSO SEEN WAGGING ITS WINGS. THE AIRPLANE'S ALTITUDE WAS ESTIMATED BY SEVERAL WITNESSES AS RANGING BETWEEN 100 AND 300 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.  AFTER MANEUVERING FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES, THE AIRPLANE HEADED SOUTHWEST, TOWARDS A PRISON COMPLEX. AS IT FLEW OVER ONE OF THE PRISON'S PLOWED AGRICULTURAL FIELDS, IT SUDDENLY NOSE-DIVED INTO THE GROUND. A WITNESS NOTED THAT JUST PRIOR TO THE NOSEDIVE, "THE PLANE SU                                             DDENLY SEEMED TO MOVE UP AND DOWN ON AN AXIS." JUST BEFORE THE NOSEDIVE, ONE WITNESS THOUGHT THE ENGINE "FALTERED A LITTLE," ANOTHER THOUGHT THE ENGINE WAS "OPERATING NORMALLY," AND A THIRD WITNESS HEARD THE ENGINE "GET LOUD."  THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE SUNSET, AT 38 DEGREES, 24.9 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE, 85 DEGREES, 25.3 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE.

## 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 NYC01FA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01FA102), Apr 19, 2001: Cessna 152 (N95655), La Grange, KY, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering the airplane at low altitude. A factor was the pilot's overconfidence in his abilities.

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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