- Date
- October 15, 1997, 17:10 local (21:10 UTC)
- Place
- Piqua, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6154QCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971015044729A
- Case key
- 39491
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 inadequate compensation for the wind condition. A factor in this accident was the crosswind condition.
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
While landing on runway 8, the student pilot (SP) stated that the left wing lifted. He applied aileron correction which brought the wing back down, but the plane veered off the left of the runway. Winds reported at an airport about 16 miles south of the accident site, at 1651, and 1751, were from 350 degrees at 8 knots, and from 10 degrees at 12 knots, respectively.
Factual narrative
On October 15, 1997, at 1710 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6154Q, was substantially damaged during landing at the Piqua Airport (I17), Piqua, Ohio. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight. No flight plan had been filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a written statement, the pilot said after returning from the practice area, he fly over I17, and observed the tetrahedral favoring the use of runway 8. The pilot entered a downwind for an approach to runway 8. He further stated:
"..There were minor corrections on approach. I touched down, and then my left wing lifted. It felt like it was going to flip over. The aileron correction brought the wing to touch back down, but the plane veered off the left of the runway. There was a hump that ran parallel to the runway that threw the plane back aloft. I tried to keep the nose up, but I guess my speed was too slow, sending the plane down nose first...."
In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the pilot said he lost directional control during the landing attempt, and attempted to salvage the landing after he noticed the airplane was high, and approximately halfway down the 4,000 foot runway.
The pilot reported his total flight experience was 43 hours, all in make and model, of which 13 hours were solo flight.
Examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector reveled no evidence of pre-impact abnormalities.
Winds reported at an airport about 16 miles south of the accident site at 1651, and 1751, were from 350 degrees at 8 knots, and from 10 degrees at 12 knots, respectively.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6154Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285174
- Airframe hours
- 4,867
- Engine
- Lycoming O235L2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aviation Sales Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 1997 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- DAY · Dayton, OH
- Destination
- I17 · OH
- Airport
- I17 · Piqua, runway 8, 3,997 × 75 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
- 17
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 43 total · 43 in this make and model · 13 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY, 16 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 N6154Q · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.