- Date
- May 22, 1990, 16:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Erie, CO
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N714UECessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900522017049A
- Case key
- 17934
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
Cfi's failure to ensure that the student pilot maintained sufficient airspeed, resulting in the inadvertent stall/mush. A factor was the downdraft experienced at low altitude after takeoff.
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
A new student pilot and his CFI were on initial climb, at 150 feet AGL, with the left seat student as the sole manipulator of the controls. The flight encountered a downdraft, the student lost control, and the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent. The CFI was unable to regain control and the plane struck the terrain in a level attitude. The nose gear was sheared, the plane nosed over, the tail section separated aft of the cabin and the fuselage tumbled end for end twice. The cabin came to rest inverted. The occupants then exited and noticed a small fire in gascolator area, which self-extinguished in a few minutes.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N714UE
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15279437
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Skies Unlimited, Inc.
- Destination
- 48V
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,050 total · 250 in this make and model · 700 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 16,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.