- Date
- May 10, 1989, 20:50 local (May 11, 1989, 01:50 UTC)
- Place
- Cottage Grove, MN
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5357QCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 10, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890510011269A
- Case key
- 34682
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
Poor judgement of the pilot by flying while physically impaired from consumption of alcohol; and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed, while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and collision with wooded/hilly terrain.
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
After the plt & an acquaintance took off on a local flt, witnesses observed the acft flying low over the Mississippi river. According to a witness, the acft's wheels touched the water at one point. The acft was then observed to climb & begin circling a chemical plant, near the river, where production lighting was being used to film a documentary at dusk. Subsequently, the acft entered a nose low attitude & crashed in a nearby wooded area on the river bluff. A short time after the acdnt, medical personnel arrived & provided assistance. Drg an investigation, no preimpact mechanical problem of the acft or eng was found. As the occupants were being removed from the acdnt site, the odor of alcohol was noted. Toxicology checks showed the plt had a blood/alcohol lvl of 0.143% (143 mg/dl) & the passenger had a blood/alcohol of 0.186% (186 mg/dl).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5357Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285105
- Airframe hours
- 3,740
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wing'S Inc.
- Registered owner
- White Bear Investment Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 17, 1989 · 38 hours before
- Departed
- STP · St Paul, MN
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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 750 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSP, 15 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.