- Date
- November 3, 1998, 09:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tomball, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N46887Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 1, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981103039209A
- Case key
- 45285
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 failure to maintain directional control of the airplane.
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
On his first solo flight, the 22 hour student pilot lost control of the airplane after applying takeoff power during the takeoff roll phase of his second takeoff from runway 17R. The airplane was observed by personnel in the tower departing the left side of the runway into muddy ground adjacent to the edge of the runway and nosing over. The student pilot had successfully performed 5 touch and go landing with his flight instructor prior to being endorsed for his first solo flight. The winds at the time of the accident were reported as variable at 3 knots.
Factual narrative
On November 3, 1998, at 0930 central standard time, a Cessna 152 airplane, N46887, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during takeoff roll from the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport, near Tomball, Texas. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was owned and operated by AB Aviation Inc., of Tomball, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated from the Hooks Airport approximately 30 minutes prior to the accident.
In a written statement submitted by the student's flight instructor, the flight instructor reported that the morning training flight was initiated with 5 uneventful dual touch and go landings. The airplane was taxied back to the ramp, and after the proper endorsements by the flight instructor, the student was cleared for his first solo flight. The flight instructor further stated that "the student's first solo takeoff, pattern and landing were normal."
According to the FAA inspector who responded to the accident site, the 22 hour student pilot lost control of the airplane after applying takeoff power during the takeoff roll from runway 17R. Personnel in the control tower observed the airplane depart the left side of the runway into muddy ground adjacent to the edge of the runway and "flip over."
Examination of the wreckage by the FAA inspector revealed that the vertical stabilizer was crushed and the fuselage sustained structural damage aft of the baggage compartment. The inspector confirmed that the ground beyond the edges of the runway was muddy with standing water in several spots; however, there was no standing water on the runway. The winds at the time of the accident were reported as variable at 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46887
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 152-83132
- Airframe hours
- 4,478
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ab Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 5, 1998 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- DWH
- Airport
- DWH · David Wayne Hooks, runway 17R, 7,000 × 100 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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 22 total · 17 in this make and model · 9 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.