# NTSB ATL04LA058: Cessna 152, N93002, Louisburg, NC, December 20, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 20, 2003, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Louisburg, NC - Coordinates: 36.08361, -78.367225 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0836&lon=-78.3672&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Greensboro FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 58522 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL04LA058 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58522/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04LA058 ## Probable cause Other maintenance personnel's inadequate engine overhaul that resulted in engine case fretting and engine oil starvation. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - maintenance,overhaul,major - inadequate, other maintenance personnel (cause) - fluid,oil - starvation (cause) - engine assembly,crankcase - fretted (cause) - engine assembly,crankcase - undertorqued - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - ditch - Nose gear collapsed, emergency descent/landing - landing gear,nose gear - overload ## Analysis The CFI and student were completing a cross-country flight, and were six miles from the destination airport flying at 2500 feet, when the engine started to run rough for 20 to 30 seconds then quit. The CFI went through the emergency checklist but was unable to restart the engine. The CFI selected a nearby field for an emergency landing. During the landing roll, the nose wheel collided with a ditch and collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the nose gear collapsed, the propeller bent, and the firewall damaged. The engine teardown revealed wear and fretting on the main journals, and bearing movement that resulted in engine oil starvation to the crankshaft.. The center journal was loose and appears to have spun, cutting off the oil passage. The last engine overhaul was on January 22, 2001, and approximately 1,102.7 hours had been flown since that overhaul. ## Factual narrative On December 20, 2003, at 1130 eastern standard time, a Cessna 152, N93002, registered to Rinne Associates Inc., and operated by a commercial pilot, collided with a drainage ditch during an emergency landing near Louisburg, North Carolina, The instructional flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Kinston, North Carolina at 1000 on December 20, 2003. According to the CFI, they were completing a cross-country flight and were six miles from the destination airport flying at 2500 feet, when the engine started to run rough for 20 to 30 seconds then quit. The CFI went through the emergency checklist but was unable to restart the engine. The CFI selected a nearby field for an emergency landing. During the landing roll, the nose wheel collided with a ditch and collapsed. Examination of the airplane revealed the nose gear collapsed, the propeller bent, and the firewall damaged. The engine teardown revealed wear and fretting on the main journals. The center journal was loose, the bearing assemblies had spun, and the oil passageways were blocked. A review of the aircraft maintenance logbooks reveal that the last engine overhaul was on January 22, 2001, and approximately 1,102.7 hours had been flown since that overhaul. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N93002](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N93002), registered now, S/N 15285374, built 1981 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 152-85374 - Airframe hours: 12516.8 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: David Leahy - Registered owner: Rine Associates - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: 100 hour, November 25, 2003, 27.9 hours before - Departed: Kinston, NC - Destination: Louisburg, NC ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 25; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review November 8, 2002; seat: right; flight hours: 1,329 total, 535 in this make and model, 1,272 as pilot in command, 255 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 54; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 30 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC) - Wind: 350° at 7 knots, gusting 14 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 39 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: RDU, 20 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20031220034369A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031220034369A), Dec 20, 2003: Cessna 152, Louisburg, NC, Substantial damage. (-23) Aircraft was on a x-country flight when the engine seized. Instructor made forced landing in a large field. Aircraft hit a ditch, causing substantial… ## Other investigations on N93002 (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 ATL91LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL91LA098), May 23, 1991: Cessna 152 (N93002), Knightdale, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE STUDENT PILOT'S DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. THE PILOT'S CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE AIRPLANE WITH A KNOWN DISCREPANCY AND THE OPERATOR'S PREVIOUS IMPROPER MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION OF THE… 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. --- 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.