# NTSB LAX96LA203: Cessna 152, N49438, Van Nuys, CA, May 19, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 19, 1996, 12:05 local (19:05 UTC) - Place: Van Nuys, CA - Coordinates: 34.190174, -118.490684 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1902&lon=-118.4907&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 20, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 29446 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX96LA203 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/29446/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96LA203 ## Probable cause the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during an aborted takeoff. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - aborted - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command - On ground/water collision with object, takeoff - aborted - object - fence ## Analysis During takeoff, at 10 feet above the runway, the aircraft yawed side to side. Because the pilot did not feel he was in control of the aircraft, he chose to abort the takeoff and landed back on the runway. The aircraft veered to the left off the runway, crossing a grass median, a taxiway, and a ramp before coming to rest against a fence. The student's flight instructor was not present at the time; however, in a later debriefing the student could recall no other aircraft nearby that could have caused wake turbulence. The instructor concluded that the pilot may have flown into a dust devil because of the student's report of a yawing motion as opposed to a rolling motion. ## Factual narrative On May 19, 1996, at 1205 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N49438, impacted a fence during takeoff on runway 16L at Van Nuys Municipal Airport, Van Nuys, California. The aircraft was substantially damaged; however, the student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo instructional flight. The student pilot, who reported 38 total flying hours of which 10 were solo, told the NTSB investigator that the purpose of the flight was to remain in the airport traffic pattern and practice touch-and-go landings. On takeoff, during the fourth touch-and-go, when he reached about 10 feet of altitude the aircraft began veering side to side. The pilot tried to control the aircraft, but couldn't, so he closed the throttle and let the aircraft settle to the runway. The aircraft was headed off the runway and before the pilot could stop the aircraft it crossed a grass median, a taxiway, and a concrete ramp before impacting the chain link fence. The pilot's flight instructor was not present at the time of the accident but debriefed him later. The student had been instructed on wake turbulence procedures in previous lessons and told his flight instructor that he had no recollection of any large aircraft operating on either of the parallel runways or stopped on taxiways between the runways. Based upon the student's emphasis that the aircraft yawed left and right but did not roll, the instructor thought that there may have been a dust devil that the student did not see. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N49438](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N49438), registered now, S/N 15281267, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15281267 - Airframe hours: 5421 - Engines: Lycoming O-235-L2C 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Av8, Inc. - Registered owner: Robert D. Adler - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: 100 hour, May 13, 1996, 2 hours before - Departed: VNY - Airport: VNY, Van Nuys, runway 16L, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 29; student; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 38 total, 37 in this make and model, 10 as pilot in command, 14 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 5 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: VNY ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19960519012849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960519012849A), May 19, 1996: Cessna 152, Van Nuys, CA, Substantial damage. Lost directional control on a touch and go. Veered off runway into a fence. CFI beleives encountered dust devil. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.