- Date
- May 6, 1989, 13:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Flint, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N25054Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890506010929A
- Case key
- 14347
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-in-command's failure to follow proper procedures and directives and his premature decision to initiate an emergency procedure. Contributing factors were the pilot's lack of total experience and his selection of unsuitable terrain for the emergency landing.
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
While on an instructional solo cross country flight the pilot experienced a partial power loss. The student elected to select 'idle-shutoff' and conduct an emergency landing. During the landing roll in a cultivated field, the nosewheel dug into soft dirt and the aircraft nosed over. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, however the pilot reported no injuries. Subsequent examination of the engine revealed nothing that would have prevented normal operation. Surface temperature five miles away, and thirty three minutes after the accident, was 48 degrees f and the relative humidity was calculated as 54% visible moisture in the form of clouds, described as 5,000 feet scattered and 8,000 feet overcast, as observed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N25054
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280518
- Airframe hours
- 2,146
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Amer. Christian Aviation Inst.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 18, 1989 · 37 hours before
- Departed
- PTK · Pontiac, MI
- Destination
- FNT · Flint, MI
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 60 total · 36 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 14 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FNT, 5 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.