- Date
- October 3, 1997, 13:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- West Chester, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N94999Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971003030099A
- Case key
- 39480
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 directional control of the airplane.
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 pilot flew an approach to runway 27. The airplane landed left main gear first, then a gust of wind raised the right wing, and the airplane veered off the right side of the runway and nosed over. Winds at the time of the accident were reported from 220 degrees at 11 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 3, 1997, at 1315 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94999, was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway during landing at the Brandywine Airport, West Chester, Pennsylvania. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for solo instructional flight that originated at Brandywine Airport. No flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a written statement, the student pilot stated that the airplane touched down left main gear first, and a gust of wind raised the right wing. He also stated, "...I tried to let the plane settle on its own but lost control as the plane veered off to the right..." Upon exiting the runway, the airplane's nose gear and propeller assembly contacted grass boarding runway 27, and the airplane nosed over.
The Philadelphia International Airport reported the winds, at 1251, to be from 220 degrees at 11 knots. The Willow Grove Naval Air Station reported the winds, at 1255, to be from 220 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 14 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94999
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285834
- Airframe hours
- 5,580
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ted Air Service
- Registered owner
- A.C.R. Machine Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 28, 1997 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- N99
- Airport
- N99 · Brandywine, runway 27, 3,007 × 50 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 19 total · 19 in this make and model · 19 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 22,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 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.
Other investigations on N94999 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.