- Date
- December 7, 1990, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mitchellville, MD
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N68243Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901207053339A
- Case key
- 11650
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
Failure of the student pilot to maintain control of the aircraft, and inadequate supervision by the instructor pilot (CFI). Factors related to the accident were: inadequate preflight of the aircraft by the pilot(s) and in-flight opening of the door.
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 instructor and student were practicing landings, when the student was instructed to make a go-around. During the go-around, the student's door came open. According to the instructor, the student panicked and turned the control wheel to the left, causing the aircraft to turn left and touch down on the left side of the runway. Subsequenlty, the aircraft struck VASI lights and a parked aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68243
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282206
- Airframe hours
- 7,398
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Freeway Airport, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 13, 1990 · 70 hours before
- Airport
- W00 · Freeway, runway 32, 2,400 × 30 ft, asphalt
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
- 19
- Certificate
- Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 900 total · 600 in this make and model · 200 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DCA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.