- Date
- November 10, 1995, 09:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Ana, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N55152Cessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951110036409A
- Case key
- 29336
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 failure to maintain directional control which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop. The pilot's diverted attention while raising the flaps and pushing in the carburetor heat control was a factor in this 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 private pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. On the second takeoff, the aircraft ground looped while the pilot was raising the flaps and pushing in the carburetor heat control. The pilot said that the airplane did not experience any preexisting malfunctions or failures. He also said that he should have made a full stop landing, taxied back, and then made a normal takeoff.
Factual narrative
On November 10, 1995, at 0900 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna 172, N55152, exited runway 19L and ground looped at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. The pilot was conducting a local visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, operated by Orange County Flight Center at John Wayne Airport, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at John Wayne Airport at 0830 hours.
The pilot said in a telephone interview conducted on November 10, 1995, that he was practicing touch-and-go landings and takeoffs. The airplane bounced on the second landing and he applied power to begin the takeoff roll. He said that he lost directional control of the airplane when raising the flaps and pushing in the carburetor heat control. The pilot also said that the airplane did not experience any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures.
The pilot reiterated his telephone statement in the aircraft accident report. He also said "I am a relatively new pilot. I was practicing touch and go landing and takeoffs. They are complex maneuvers. I believe [that] coming to a full stop and taxi[ing] back for a regular takeoff would have been safer."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55152
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17275121
- Airframe hours
- 5,648
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2J, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Orange County Flight Center
- Registered owner
- Rodney Mitchell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 20, 1995 · 87 hours before
- Departed
- SNA
- Airport
- SNA · John Wayne, runway 19L, 2,887 × 75 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 118 total · 18 in this make and model · 43 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SNA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.