- Date
- June 4, 1989, 11:08 local (15:08 UTC)
- Place
- Dover Afb, DE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N69271Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890604057279A
- Case key
- 11505
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 pilot's improper flare, improper recovery from a bounced landing, and his delay in initiating a go-around, which resulted in an uncontrolled porpoise, loss of directional control, and an uncontrolled ground swerve. His lack of experience, a crosswind, and the ditch were contributing factors.
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
The student plt was landing on rwy 19 with a rprtd wind from 290 deg at 13 KTS. He rprtd that the apch was normal until the acft was at about 15 ft AGL, then it abruptly descended & contacted the rwy. It bounced 2 or 3 times & the student elected to go around. Power was applied; however, the acft settled onto the rwy & traveled off the left side into a grass area. Before the student could stop the acft, it contacted a ditch & nosed over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69271
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282594
- Airframe hours
- 5,510
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Sharon Battreall
- Registered owner
- Sharon Battreal
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 2, 1989 · 51 hours before
- Departed
- DOV
- Airport
- DOV · Dover Afb, runway 19, 9,600 × 200 ft, concrete
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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11 total · 11 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DOV
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.