- Date
- June 15, 2005, 23:20 local (Jun 16, 2005, 04:20 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Payne, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5527MCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Birmingham FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050615015429A
- Case key
- 61708
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The intentional unauthorized use of a stolen aircraft by an unqualified person which resulted in a hard landing and substantial damage to the airplane.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the police, the 14 year old boy had never flown an airplane before. He stated to the police that he wanted to go flying. He went to the airport and found an airplane with the keys in it. He flew for a few minutes and landed, then took off again. On the second flight, he flew a few minutes longer and and attempted to land again. This time he landed hard and the airplane veered to the left. He stated that he added power in an attempt to go-around and the airplane crashed on a road nose down and slid about 40-feet.The 14-year old boy was arrested and charged with the theft of an airplane and was being held in juvenile detention pending a formal hearing.
Factual narrative
On June 15, 2005, at 2320 central daylight time, a Cessna 152, N5527M, registered to Valley Aviation Inc. collided with the ground during an attempted landing at the Fort Payne Isbell Field Airport, in Fort Payne, Alabama. The 14 year old non-certificated pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Fort Payne Isbell Field, Fort Payne, Alabama at 2300.
According to the police, the 14 year old boy had never flown an airplane before but told the police that he wanted to go flying. He went to the airport and found an airplane with the keys in it. He flew for a few minutes and landed, then took off again. On the second flight, he flew a few minutes longer and attempted to land again. This time he landed hard and the airplane veered to the left. He stated that he added power in an attempt to go-around and the airplane crashed on a road in a nose down attitude and slid about 40-feet.
Examination of the airplane found the propeller separated, and the airplane resting about four feet from a telephone pole in a nose down attitude, with the nose gear folded back under the engine. Further examination found the left main wheel assembly torn from its axel, and the empennage rivets on the right side sheared off with only the left side remaining attached. Both wings sustained leading edge damage with wrinkling observed in the wing skin.
The 14-year old boy was arrested and charged with the theft of an airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5527M
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284603
- Engine
- Avco Lycoming O-235, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Valley Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 4A9 · Fort Payne, AL
- Destination
- 4A9 · Fort Payne, AL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 14
- Injuries
- None
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- 4A9
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5527M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.