MIA01LA217

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 152 · Summerfield, FL · August 16, 2001

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 16, 2001, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
Place
Summerfield, FL
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N69120Cessna 152
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 2, 2002
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA Flight Standards Disctrict Office
FAA report
20010816023339A
Case key
53044

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The poor in-flight planning decision by the student pilot for his failure to turn around to avoid low ceilings resulting in a precautionary landing in a field. A contributing factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience. A finding in the investigation was the pilot's intentional flight into instrument meteorologiocal conditions (IMC) on 2 separate occasions.

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.

In flight encounter with weatherCruise - normal
In-flight planning/decision - poorPilot in commandCause
Lack of total experiencePilot in commandFactor
Weather condition - low ceiling
On ground/water collision with objectLanding - roll
Precautionary landing - performedPilot in command
Object - fence

Analysis

The pilot stated he was on a cross-country flight in preparation for a checkride that was scheduled for August 20, 2001. The first leg from Kissimmee to Brooksville was uneventful. The flight departed for the second leg and while en route, the cloud base decreased, resulting in his flying at a lower altitude. The flight continued and when it was near the destination, the weather became increasingly worse. The flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and he elected to continue flying in IMC due to a thunderstorm that was behind the airplane. He then elected to turn to get out of the IMC conditions but momentarily lost control of the airplane. He recovered from the loss of control and descended to just above the treetops, then elected to get on top of the cloud layer and climbed into IMC conditions. He again descended and reversed course to back track. He was unable to locate landmarks and obtain assistance from air traffic control to his "Pan" calls on 121.5. With a thunderstorm moving from west to east he elected to land in a field and flew downwind, base, and final leg. He landed the airplane in the field but during the landing roll, the airplane collided with a fence collapsing the nose landing gear. He secured the airplane and waited for further assistance. According to the Operations Manager for the operator, examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down in a first field then rolled approximately 1,000 feet before colliding with the barbed wire fence. During recovery of the airplane from the field, each fuel tank had 5+ gallons of fuel; the left wing fuel tank had slightly less fuel when recovered.

Factual narrative

On August 16, 2001 at about 1030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N69120, registered to Kissimmee Air Center and operated by Orlando Flight Training, Inc., collided with a fence during a precautionary landing in the cow pasture near Summerfield, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated about 0855, from the Hernando County Airport, Brooksville, Florida.

According to the pilot, he was on a cross-country flight in preparation for a checkride that was scheduled for August 20, 2001. The first leg from Kissimmee to Brooksville was uneventful. The flight departed for the second leg and while en route, the cloud base decreased, resulting in his flying at a lower altitude. The flight continued and when it was near the destination, the weather became increasingly worse. The flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and he elected to continue flying in IMC due to deteriorating weather behind his position. He then elected to turn to get out of the IMC conditions but momentarily lost control of the airplane. He recovered from the loss of control and descended to just above the treetops, then elected to get on top of the cloud layer and climbed into IMC conditions. He again descended and reversed course to back track. He was unable to locate landmarks and obtain assistance from air traffic control to his "Pan" calls on 121.5. With a thunderstorm moving from west to east he elected to land in a field and flew downwind, base, and final leg. He landed the airplane in the field but during the landing roll, the airplane collided with a fence collapsing the nose landing gear. He secured the airplane and waited for further assistance.

According to the Operations Manager for the operator, examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down in a first field then rolled approximately 1,000 feet before colliding with the barbed wire fence. During recovery of the airplane from the field, each fuel tank had 5+ gallons of fuel; the left wing fuel tank had slightly less fuel when recovered.

Aircraft

Registration
N69120
Reported as
Cessna 152
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15282495
Airframe hours
8,297.5
Engine
Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Orlando Flight Training, Inc.
Registered owner
Kissimmee Air Center
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility
Last inspection
100 hour · July 23, 2001 · 78.3 hours before
Departed
KBKV · Brooksville, FL
Destination
KOCF · Ocala, FL

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
17
Injuries
None
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Left
Flight hours
50 total · 50 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
1,600 ft broken
Temperature
84 °F, dew point 79 °F
Altimeter
30.06 inHg
Observed at
KOCF

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.