- Date
- April 6, 1995, 21:30 local (Apr 7, 1995, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Kokomo, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N757UVCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950406007249A
- Case key
- 9865
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 misjudged the landing flare. Factors related to the accident were the dark light conditions and the pilot's lack of visual cues for the runway environment.
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 private pilot was returning from a night cross country and landing on a 2048 foot by 110 foot grass strip with low intensity runway lights. The threshold was displaced 300 feet due to obstructions. Winds were calm, it was a dark night, and the strip was described by the pilot as 'a dark hole.' The airplane landed hard, bounced, and landed nose first.
Factual narrative
On April 6, 1995, about 2130 eastern standard time (EST), a Cessna 152, N757UV, operated by Glenndale Air Service of Kokomo, Indiana, experienced a hard landing, bounced, and landed nose first. The airplane was substantially damaged; the private pilot and passenger were uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, weather was clear with calm winds, and no flight plan was filed.
The flight originated at the Glenndale Airport (8I3), Kokomo, Indiana, at 2000 EST, as a night pleasure flight. The flight had progressed to Marion, Indiana, then Wabash, Indiana, and was terminating back at Glenndale when the accident occurred. The runway is a 2048 foot by 110 foot, north-south, grass strip, with low intensity runway edge lights. The threshold is displaced 300 feet due to obstructions. The pilot described the runway and airport as "a dark hole."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N757UV
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280022
- Airframe hours
- 4,836
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles W. Beene
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 21, 1995 · 36 hours before
- Airport
- 8I3 · Kokomo Gleedale, runway 36, 1,748 × 110 ft, grass/turf
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 210 total · 190 in this make and model · 137 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N757UV · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.