- Date
- April 9, 1989, 17:02 local (Apr 10, 1989, 00:02 UTC)
- Place
- Irwindale, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N25884Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890409006829A
- Case key
- 26376
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
Improper procedure used by the certified flight instructor in simulating an engine failure. Contributing to this accident was the lack of total flight instruction experience of the flight instructor.
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 Cessna 152 collided with a fence during a forced landing. At 4,000 ft MSL, the CFI switched the fuel shut off valve to the off position to simulate an eng failure. The student pilot switched the fuel shut off valve to the on position. The eng did not regain RPM. The CFI then 'double checked' to see that the student switched the fuel shut off valve to the 'on' position. The eng began to fire and then quit. The CFI then checked the fuel shut off valve again along with the mixture ctrl, magnetos, and eng primer. At 2000 ft MSL the propeller stopped turning. The CFI engaged the starter in an attempt to restart the eng. The CFI overshot the intended landing area and selected another road and landed short of it. The acft struck a fence and nosed over. The acft was examined and the carburetor fuel bowl was found empty of fuel. Ac 61-21 states, in part, 'the CFI should give simulated forced landings by retarding the throttle.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N25884
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15280831
- Airframe hours
- 3,636
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Barlett Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 2, 1989 · 85 hours before
- Departed
- EMT · El Monte, 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
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 292 total · 118 in this make and model · 239 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EMT, 4 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.
Other investigations on N25884 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.