- Date
- July 25, 1998, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Greenville, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N623AFCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980725017689A
- Case key
- 43107
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 performing the abort, and the instructor pilot's failure to take control of the airplane before passing the end of the runway. A factor contributing to this accident was the ditch.
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 was making the takeoff. The Instructor pilot said that just passing the crosswind runway intersection, mid-way down the runway, the airplane showed 40 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). After passing the intersection, the airplane started to lift off, but returned to the grass. The airspeed indicator again read 40 KIAS. The instructor pilot told the student to abort the takeoff. The instructor pilot said that he took control of the airplane just as they passed the end of the runway. The airplane crossed one ditch and stopped when it hit a second ditch. Inspection of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On July 25, 1998, at 1300 eastern daylight time (edt), a Cessna 152, N623AF, operated by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage, when during takeoff the airplane ran off of the end of the runway at Greenville Municipal Airport, Greenville, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. There was no flight plan on file. The instructor pilot and dual student on board reported no injuries. The cross-country flight was originating at Greenville, Michigan.
In his written statement, the instructor pilot said that the student pilot was making the takeoff on runway 18. The Instructor pilot said, "At the intersection of runway 27 (the runway which crosses runway 18 at the mid-point), we were at 40 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). After passing the intersection, the airplane started to lift off, but returned to the grass. The airspeed indicator again read 40 KIAS. The instructor pilot told the student to abort the takeoff. The instructor pilot said that he took control of the airplane just as they passed the end of the runway. The airplane crossed one ditch and stopped when it hit a second ditch.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane at the Greenville Municipal Airport. The airplane's nose wheel strut was broken aft. One of the two propeller blades was bent aft. The airplane's right wing tip was crushed aft and inward. The right wing's forward spar was bent aft. Flight control continuity was confirmed. Examination of the airplane's engine, engine controls, brakes and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N623AF
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280841
- Airframe hours
- 5,940
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- American Flight & Technology
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 2, 1998 · 47 hours before
- Departed
- 6D6 · Greenville, MI
- Destination
- PTK · Pontiac, MI
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 6D6 · Greenville Municipal Arpt, runway 18, 1,750 × 200 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
- 32
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 440 total · 90 in this make and model · 264 as pilot in command · 147 in the last 90 days · 57 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AMN, 28 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.