- Date
- May 6, 1997, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rochelle, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5225BCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970506007999A
- Case key
- 10558
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 student pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff and the use of excessive braking after deciding to abort the takeoff. A factor was the pilot's failure to maintain runway alignment during the 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
The student pilot said he was having trouble aligning the airplane with the landing runway centerline. He said the airplane's nose was pointed to the left of the runway centerline at touchdown. He attempted to go around after the airplane departed the runway and was on the grass next to it. He said the airplane wouldn't lift off before or after the flaps were retracted. The pilot said he decided to abort the takeoff when he saw a fence in front of the airplane. He applied '...full...' brakes and the airplane nosed over.
Factual narrative
On May 6, 1997, at 1500 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 152, N5225B, piloted by a student pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during an off-runway landing roll. The pilot said he touched down on runway 25 (4,226' X 75' dry asphalt) at the Rochelle Municipal Airport, Rochelle, Illinois, without having the airplane aligned with the runway centerline. The airplane departed the left side of the runway shortly after touchdown. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight was operating on a VFR flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed Aurora, Illinois, at 1445 cdt.
The pilot said he was having trouble getting the airplane to line up with the runway centerline. He said he was unable to get the needed alignment no matter the amount of rudder application. The pilot said the airplane touched down with its nose pointed left of the runway centerline. He said, "...the plane went to [the] left on [the] grass. I tried to do a go-around and applied full power." The pilot said the airplane wouldn't lift off before or after he retracted the flaps. According to the pilot, he decided to abort the takeoff when he saw a fence in front of the airplane. He said he "...applied full brakes and [the]... prop dug in and [the airplane] flipped, it came to a full stop."
The manager of the fixed base operation at the airport said the wind was coming from the northwest about 10 to 15 knots. She said she did not see the airplane during the events leading to the accident. She said she heard its engine increase in power, followed by a loud "pop," and then silence. After the engine sound stopped, she said she looked out her office window and saw the airplane laying upside down in a field next to the airport.
The pilot said the accident was avoidable. He said he should have performed a go-around during the landing approach when he was unable to align the airplane's centerline with the runway centerline.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5225B
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15283810
- Airframe hours
- 7,061
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- South Suburban Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 8, 1996
- Departed
- AUR · Aurora, IL
- Destination
- 12C
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 12C · Rochelle Municipal, runway 25, 4,226 × 75 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 38 total · 12 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RFD, 19 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.