# NTSB SEA99LA142: Cessna 152, N6148Q, Kennewick, WA, August 17, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 17, 1999, 16:09 local (23:09 UTC) - Place: Kennewick, WA - Coordinates: 46.21062, -119.159065 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.2106&lon=-119.1591&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 2, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 47112 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA99LA142 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/47112/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99LA142 ## Probable cause The student pilot's inadequate compensation for gusty wind conditions. A contributing factor was gusty winds. ## Analysis The 26-hour student solo pilot initiated takeoff on runway 02. During the takeoff roll and while applying a crosswind correction, a gust of wind from the left picked up the Cessna 152's left wing and the aircraft's right wing impacted the runway. The aircraft then flipped over. Winds at Pasco airport five nautical miles to the northeast were out of the northwest averaging approximately 10 knots during the afternoon of the accident. ## Factual narrative On August 17, 1999, approximately 1609 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6148Q, registered to Kennewick Aircraft Services, Inc., and being flown by a student pilot, incurred substantial damage when the aircraft nosed over following a loss of control on takeoff at the Vista airport, Kennewick, Washington. The student pilot was uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and a VFR flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was the student's first solo cross country, was to have been operated under 14CFR91, and was destined for Yakima, Washington. The student pilot was interviewed shortly after the accident by an air traffic controller assigned to the Federal Aviation Administration's control tower at Pasco. He provided the following written statement: "As I approached 50 knots the plane was taking off as speed increased. I had a cross wind correction in for the slight cross wind and then a cross wind gust came at me and made my left wing come up and the right wing hit the ground and made my nose go down to the ground and it hit and I did an end over end flip." Winds at Pasco airport, five nautical miles northeast of the Kennewick airport, were out of the northwest averaging approximately 10 knots during the afternoon of the accident. The student pilot later reported on NTSB Form 6120.1/2 (attached) that "I was taking off on runway 02 with no winds shown on the wind sock. As I approached my takeoff speed and as [I] prepared the start [of] my rotation a strong cross wind came from my left making the airplane roll and my right wing hit the runway. I pulled the throttle and then my nose went to the ground and then I flipped end over end over the nose." The student pilot reported a total of 25.7 hours of flight experience at the time of the accident of which 6.1 hours were pilot-in-command. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - roll/run - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, dual student (cause) - Nose over, takeoff - roll/run ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6148Q](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6148Q-2018-08-10), registration cancelled 2018-08-10, S/N 15285171 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15285171 - Airframe hours: 4458 - Engines: Lycoming O-235-L2C 110 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kennewick Aircraft Services - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 9, 1999, 90 hours before - Departed: S98 - Destination: YKM, YAKIMA, WA - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: S98, Vista Field, runway 2, 4,000 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 18; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 26 total, 26 in this make and model, 6 as pilot in command, 26 in the last 90 days, 14 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 13 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 93 °F, dew point 64 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: PSC, 5 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990817043529A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990817043529A), Aug 17, 1999: Cessna 152, Kennewick, WA, No damage. (-23) Solo student pilot lost control of a/c when a sudden gust of wind hit a/c during takeoff. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.