- Date
- August 25, 1995, 17:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Orson, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6391MCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 3, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950825026009A
- Case key
- 39037
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 pilot's improper planning/decision, and his delay in aborting the takeoff, which resulted in a collision with a pile of dirt and shrubs. The upsloping terrain (for takeoff) was a factor.
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 pilot misidentified a farm pasture as a privately owned airport. After realizing he had landed at the wrong place, he attempted a take-off. The pilot stated he decided to takeoff upwind and uphill, instead of downhill and downwind. After lift-off, the pilot determined that the airplane would not clear trees, and he aborted the takeoff. He landed and applied brakes, but the airplane struck a pile of dirt and shrubs about eight to ten feet high. It came to rest in a nose down attitude. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions.
Factual narrative
On August 25, 1995, about 1745 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6391M, struck bushes during takeoff from a field near Orson, New York. The airplane was substantially damaged, the commercial pilot and 1 passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that he was attempting to take off from "a short field grass runway, and the runway had [a] slight incline." According to the pilot he had an option of taking off downwind or up the incline into the wind.
He stated:
...I believed into the wind would give better performance. Plane eventually lifted and started to climb. It seemed that there would be a problem clearing trees beyond runway end. I pushed plane back to [the] ground and braked as best I could. Plane overshot end of runway, hit...bushes, brush,...[and] went up on its nose....
According to the FAA Inspector's statement, the pilot had stated that he landed in a "farm pasture...because he thought it was Stahl Mountain Airport...a grass, privately owned airport about seven miles east of the farm pasture."
The FAA Inspector stated:
After realizing he had landed at the wrong place, he attempted a take-off. After lift-off, [the pilot] realized he would not clear trees in front of him and aborted...landed, rolled out and applied brakes, but ended up in a pile of dirt and shrubs about eight to ten feet high in a nose down vertical attitude...[the] pilot stated there were no obvious mechanical problems with the aircraft...he simply elected to abort the take-off climb out....
The local weather was; clear, visibility 20 miles, temperature 80 degrees F, dew point missing, wind missing, altimeter missing.
At the time of the accident, the pilot had 1,328 total flight hours, 922 instructor flight hours and 25 flight hours in this make and model airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6391M
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284705
- Airframe hours
- 6,585
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Raritan Valley Flying School
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 25, 1995 · 25 hours before
- Destination
- 39N · Princeton, NJ
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
- 51
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,328 total · 25 in this make and model · 922 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.