# NTSB ERA09CA504: Cessna 152, N69124, Harrisburg, PA, August 31, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 31, 2009, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Harrisburg, PA - Coordinates: 40.523056, -76.845558 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5231&lon=-76.8456&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 29, 2009 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 74675 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA09CA504 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74675/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74675 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09CA504 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s delayed decision to abort the takeoff, resulting in an overrun. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 38 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot stated that he was practicing full-stop landings on a short, grass runway. On his second takeoff, he was dissatisfied with the airplane's rate of climb and aborted the takeoff approximately 2/3 of the way down the runway. After touchdown, the airplane overran the departure end of the runway and came to rest in a bean field, which resulted in substantial damage to the nose gear, firewall, fuselage and propeller. The student pilot’s certified flight instructor (CFI) stated that the runway's length and surface “doesn’t allow for mistakes.” The student pilot further stated there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or any of its systems prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative The student pilot stated that he was practicing full-stop landings on a short, grass runway. On his second takeoff, he was dissatisfied with the airplane's rate of climb and aborted the takeoff approximately 2/3 of the way down the runway. After touchdown, the airplane overran the departure end of the runway and came to rest in a bean field, which resulted in substantial damage to the nose gear, firewall, fuselage and propeller. The student pilot’s certified flight instructor (CFI) stated that the runway's length and surface “doesn’t allow for mistakes.” The student pilot further stated there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or any of its systems prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N69124](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N69124-2011-01-25), registration cancelled 2011-01-25, S/N 15282499, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15282499 - Airframe hours: 8133 - Engines: LYCOMING O-235 SERIES 115 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Keiter Kenneth A - Registered owner: Keiter Kenneth A - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 21, 2008, 9 hours before - Departed: 0PS7, Elizabethtown, PA - Destination: 0PS7, Elizabethtown, PA - Airport: 0PS7, Harmen Airport, runway 26, 1,900 × 150 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 41; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 101 total, 101 in this make and model, 4 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 350° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 30.18 inHg - Observed at: MUI, 14 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20090831049129A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090831049129A), Aug 31, 2009: Cessna 152, Elizabethville, PA, Substantial damage. Pilot reported that after takeoff rotation, aircraft would not attain positive rate of climb. Pilot electd to abort takeoff and landed straight ahead beyond… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 19, 2009, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74675. 844 KB in all. - Memorandum of Conversation with CFI (item 1, .PDF, 27 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319341&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Conversation%20with%20CFI-Master.PDF - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 2, .PDF, 818 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319354&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.