- Date
- August 15, 1989, 10:35 local (17:35 UTC)
- Place
- Castaic, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N152DMCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890815029859A
- Case key
- 26241
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
Failure of the instructor pilot to adequately supervise the conduct of the flight, failure of the instructor pilot to ensure adequate terrain clearance prior to initiating the maneuver, and failure of the instructor pilot to take timely and proper and proper corrective actions once the situation was fully developed.
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
Based on the cfi's statement, he was introducing the 5 hour dual primary student to engine failure emergency procedures. The CFI selected a portion of the practice area that is mountainous, with ridge elevations of about 3,000 ft MSL, to begin the maneuver. He said that he reduced the power to idle to simulate an engine failure and the student raised the nose of the aircraft rapidly and suddenly to beyond the stall attitude. The CFI said he took over at that point, applied power and pushed the nose over to effect a recovery. The aircraft collided with the mountainous terrain during the recovery as it was achieving a climb attitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N152DM
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15279847
- Airframe hours
- 5,517
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Southland Aviation
- Registered owner
- J.D. Kelher
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 26, 1989 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- WHP · Pacoima, CA
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
- 22
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,024 total · 787 in this make and model · 743 as pilot in command · 267 in the last 90 days · 92 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BUR, 29 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.