- Date
- December 8, 1991, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4628QCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911208055049A
- Case key
- 18419
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's misjudgment of the airplane's performance which led to a situation where it could not climb above the rising terrain. A factor was the high density altitude which existed in the mountains at the time of the accident.
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 had completed his private pilot maneuver sequence and was returning to the departure airport. He stated that he was aware of the mountain and rising terrain between him and the airport, but thought he would have no problem crossing over them. The pilot stated that he ended up in a ravine between two hills with the airplane in a slight climb. He saw a blind canyon in front of him and turned left where he encountered a second blind canyon. At that point the pilot realized that he would not clear the rising terrain and added 10 degrees of flaps, however, that did not alleviated the problem. The nose gear then struck brush in the ravine and the airplane flipped over. The pilot stated that the engine appeared to have been operating normally throughout the flight. The density altitude at the site at the time of the accident was calculated to be about 7,550 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4628Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285043
- Airframe hours
- 4,844
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- N. American Inst. Of Aviation
- Registered owner
- N. American Inst. Of Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 26, 1991 · 24 hours before
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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 101 total · 87 in this make and model · 39 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DMN, 15 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.