CHI00FA180

The airplane wreckage was discovered on July 2, 2000, at 0815 cdt, 1 1/2 miles east-northeast of Brownton, Minnesota. At 0955 cdt, a flight instructor for the FBO which operated the airplane, discovered it missing from its hangar at the Maple Lake Airport, Maple Lake, Minnesota. The instructor pilot said that when he arrived at the FBO, the student pilot's car was in the parking lot, his car keys were on the desk, and the security alarm system was turned off. The student pilot had not been endorsed for solo flight. He did not possess a current student pilot certificate or current medical certificate. FBO records showed the student pilot's most recent flight was on September 2, 1995. The student pilot had 12.4 total flying hours. An examination of the airplane revealed the fuel selector in the 'closed' position. No other anomalies were found with the airplane. The results of FAA toxicology testing of specimens received from the student pilot revealed Ethanol in the blood, muscle, and urine. The FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory confirmed that the levels of Ethanol detected 'are consistent with the consumption of alcohol.' The levels of Ethanol detected in the blood equated to a blood-alcohol level of 0.06 percent by weight.

History of flight

On July 2, 2000, at approximately 0030 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 152, N757SL, operated by a pre-solo student pilot, was destroyed when it impacted into a soybean field, 1 1/2 miles east-northeast of Brownton, Minnesota. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The unauthorized personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was on file. The student pilot was fatally injured. The local flight originated at Maple Park, Minnesota.

The airplane wreckage was discovered on July 2, 2000, at 0815 cdt, by a nearby resident as he and his family were driving by the location. The witness notified the McLeod County, Minnesota, Sheriff Department at 0852 cdt.

The airplane, based at Maple Lake Airport, Maple Lake, Minnesota, was discovered missing on July 2, 2000, at approximately 0955 cdt, by an instructor pilot, employed by Wright Aero, Incorporated, the fixed base operator (FBO) on the airport. The instructor pilot told a McLeod County Sheriff's detective that when he arrived at the FBO, the student pilot's car was in the parking lot, his car keys were on the desk, the security alarm system had been turned off, and the airplane was missing.

One of the owners for Wright Aero, Incorporated, said that he found their hangar's door open, and their Baron parked on the ramp with the tractor and tow bar still attached. The owner said that the student pilot would have had to move the Baron out to get the Cessna 152 out of the hangar.

Personnel information

The student pilot did not possess a current student pilot certificate or medical certificate.

According to rental records provided by the airplane's operator, the student pilot had accumulated 12.4 total flying hours between June 14, and September 2, 1995. All of the flight time was logged in a Cessna 152 airplane.

Aircraft information

The airplane was owned by a holding company, and operated by Wright Aero, Incorporated, Maple Park Airport, Minnesota. The airplane was used for pilot training and as a rental.

The airplane was on a continuous maintenance program, and had completed a 100 hour inspection on June 30, 2000. The tachometer time recorded at the 100 hour inspection was 8243.0 hours.

The tachometer reading recorded at the accident site was 8244.7 hours.

Wreckage and impact information

The NTSB on scene investigation began on July 2, 2000, at 1730 cdt.

The accident site was located in a soybean field, 100 feet south of 90th Street, an east-west running gravel road.

The accident site began with a 69-inch wide, 31-inch long ground scar. The ground scar was oriented on a 295 degree heading, and was 8 inches at its deepest point, near the center. The airplane's engine and propeller were buried beneath the ground scar, so that 8 inches of one propeller blade tip and the back of the engine case were visible. The engine was broken off at the engine mounts. Pieces of the airplane's engine cowling rested on the north, south, and west edges of the ground scar.

The airplane main wreckage rested inverted on the east edge of the ground scar and was oriented on a 295 degree heading. The main wreckage consisted of the firewall, nose gear, cabin, main landing gear, left and right wings, fuselage, and empennage.

The firewall and nose gear were crushed aft. The nose wheel pant was broken off. The gear fork was broken at the top, near the strut. The airplane's cabin was fractured laterally, aft of the instrument panel. The instrument panel and glare shield were crushed aft and downward, and broken open. The windscreen was broken out and fragmented. All of the instruments and radios were broken out of the instrument panel. The rudder pedals and forward cabin floor were crushed upward. The cabin doors were broken outward and crushed. Both door windows were broken out and fragmented. The aft cabin floor, cabin ceiling, and pilot and copilot seats were crushed forward and up. The aft side and rear cabin windows were broken out and fragmented. The main landing gear remained attached to the cabin section. Both gear legs were bent upward. The left main landing gear leg was twisted up and aft. The wheel pants on both gear were broken off.

The left wing strut was attached to the forward cabin section floor by the attachment bolt. The strut was bent downward 20 degrees, approximately 15 inches outboard of the fuselage attachment bolt. The airplane's left wing was broken aft and separated at the wing root. The wing was crushed aft and broken open along the entire span. The top and bottom wing skin surfaces were broken laterally, aft of the leading edge, along the entire wing span. The left fuel tank was broken open and fragmented. There was no smell of fuel. Soybean plants within 5 feet aft and 2 feet forward of the left wing, were discolored and wilted. The left wing tip was broken aft longitudinally along the rivet line, and fractured into several pieces. The aft spar was broken aft. The left flap and aileron remained attached to the aft spar. The left flap was bent aft and buckled along the upper and lower skin surfaces. The left aileron was crushed forward along its entire span. Flight control continuity to the left aileron was confirmed.

The airplane's right wing was bent aft and broken open the entire span. The top and bottom wing skin surfaces were broken laterally, aft of the leading edge, and crushed aft along the entire span. The right fuel tank was crushed forward and broken open. The right wing tip was broken aft longitudinally along the rivet line, and fractured into several pieces. The right wing strut was bent forward at the wing attach bolt, and broken off at the fuselage attach bolt. The aft spar was broken out, bent aft, and twisted counter-clockwise. The right flap and aileron remained attached to the aft spar. The right flap was crushed aft along the leading edge at the rollers. The inboard trailing edge corner was bent downward 70 degrees. The right aileron was bent and buckled along its entire span. Flight control continuity to the right aileron was confirmed.

The fuselage, aft of the cabin section to the leading edges of the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, was bent and crushed forward, and twisted clockwise.

The airplane's empennage was crushed forward into the crushed fuselage section and rested on the remains of the aft cabin section. The left horizontal stabilizer was bent forward 70 degrees, and broken at mid-span. The left elevator was broken out at the hinges and the cross tube at the tail cone. The left elevator was located 26 feet due east of the airplane main wreckage.

The right horizontal stabilizer was crushed aft at the root and twisted downward. The right elevator and elevator trim tab were bent downward. Flight control continuity to the elevator was confirmed.

The vertical stabilizer was crushed aft from the leading edge to the rudder hinges along its entire span. The top 8 inches of the rudder was bent forward and twisted right 40 degrees. The trailing edge was buckled at mid-span. Flight control continuity to the rudder was confirmed.

The airplane's propeller was broken in half at the hub. The propeller mounting bolts were broken outward and bent. Blade A was bent aft 25 degrees at approximately 15 inches outboard of the hub. Blade B was bent forward 20 degrees, approximately 18 inches outboard of the hub. Both blades showed chordwise and laterally-running scratches. The spinner was crushed aft and broken, so as to conform around the front side of the propeller hub halves.

The propeller flange was bent aft to conform around the left and right sides of the front engine case. An examination of the airplane's engine showed that the carburetor floats were crushed.

The airplane's fuel selector was found in the "closed" position. An examination of the remaining e