- Date
- September 1, 2002, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sanford, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N68414Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020901026559A
- Case key
- 55659
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 student pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the takeoff roll/run which resulted in the airplane departing the runway and into a ditch where it nosed over incurring substantial damage.
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 student said it was his first solo flight, and he had made an uneventful approach and landing. As he was reconfiguring the airplane for takeoff following the touch-and-go landing, and as he applied takeoff power, the airplane veered to the left of the runway centerline, into the grass and subsequently into a shallow ditch where it flipped over incurring damage. Prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failures or malfunction to the aircraft or any of its systems.
Factual narrative
On September 1, 2002, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N68414, registered to and operated by Comair Aviation Academy as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, veered off the runway during takeoff at Orlando Sanford Airport, Sanford, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The student-rated pilot was not injured, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the student, it was his first solo flight, and he had made an uneventful approach and landing. He said he was reconfiguring the airplane for takeoff following the touch-and-go landing, and as he applied takeoff power the airplane veered to the left of the runway centerline, into the grass and subsequently into a shallow ditch where the ground had been wet after much rain. The nosewheel dug into the soft ground and the airplane flipped over onto its back, incurring damage to the wings and fuselage. Prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failures or malfunction to the aircraft or any of its systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68414
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282288
- Airframe hours
- 11,757
- Engine
- Textron Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Comair Aviation Academy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 20, 2002 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- SFB · Sanford, FL
- Airport
- SFB · Orlando Sanford, runway 09, 9,600 × 150 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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 26 total · 26 in this make and model · 26 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- SFB
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 N68414 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.