MIA93FA025

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 152 · Ocala, FL · December 2, 1992

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
December 2, 1992, 12:05 local (17:05 UTC)
Place
Ocala, FL
Injuries
1 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N5324MCessna 152
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report September 28, 1993
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19921202048689A
Case key
33169

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 pilot-in-command becoming lost and disoriented and his failure to maintain altitude.

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
Weather condition - low ceiling
Weather condition - rain
Became lost/disoriented - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent
Altitude - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Terrain condition - open field

Analysis

Student pilot received an in-person weather briefing at the FAA fss at 0919 for a VFR cross country-flight to an arpt 70 miles north of his departure point. VFR conditions were forecast along the route of flight. At 1014, the student's flight instructor filed a VFR flight plan but did not request updated weather information. At 1117, the student departed. At about 1200, the student was observed to make a touch-and-go at the dest arpt and depart to the south. After this, several witnesses overheard an unidentified acft talking on the dest arpt UNICOM frequency to a pilot who was lost in rain showers. The lost pilot had a foreign accent as did the student in N5324M. At 1500, the wreckage of N5324M was located near Ocala, Florida, 7 nautical miles northeast of the destination airport. The acft's hobbs meter indicated the acft had flown 1 hour since departure. The weather at Ocala at the time of the accident was instrument meteorological conditions in rain showers, low ceilings and visibility. Examination of the acft after the accident revealed no evidence of failure or malfunction of the acft structure, flight controls, or engine. After the student received his weather briefing at 0915, an area of unforecast showers developed to the north of his dest arpt.

Aircraft

Registration
N5324M
Reported as
Cessna 152
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15284533
Airframe hours
6,806
Engine
Lycoming O-235-L2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Delta Aircraft Corporation, doing business as National Aviation Academy
Registered owner
Delta Aircraft Corporation
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · October 16, 1992 · 68 hours before
Departed
PIE · Clearwater, FL
Destination
X35 · Dunnellon, FL
Flight plan
VFR

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
25
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Left
Toxicology
Performed
Flight hours
51 total · 51 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Day
Wind
350° at 11 knots
Visibility
3 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
200 ft overcast
Temperature
52 °F, dew point 46 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
OCF, 3 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.