Cessna 152 N68304

Summary

On 9 January 1997 at about 15:04 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N68304 was involved in an accident near Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 January 1997 at 15:04

Classification

Accident

Location

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Wings Field (N67)

Coordinates

40.1397, -75.2595

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N68304

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD97LA041

2 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's inadequate handling of the airplane and failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall, and collision with the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor (CFI) was demonstrating a soft field takeoff on runway 6 to a student pilot, and attempted to demonstrate an early rotation at 45-50 knots. He raised the nose higher than a normal pitch attitude, and as the stall warning horn sounded, he lowered the pitch, but the airplane rolled to the left. The CFI reduced power, neutralized ailerons, applied right rudder, lowered the nose, and the airplane recovered; however, the airplane was heading towards trees. The CFI reapplied power, but the airplane rolled to the left, struck the ground, and nosed over. Witnesses observed the airplane with a high nose attitude just before it impacted the ground. Another CFI, who had flown the airplane, stated that during a power on/off demonstration flight, the airplane required 2,200 feet of altitude to recover. According to the police, the pilot said the airplane had taken off in a northeasterly direction, and the airplane was about 20 feet above the runway. He said the climb angle was about 15-17 degrees. The airplane's maintenance records revealed that on 5/20/96, an entry for a right rolling tendency was recorded and signed off by a mechanic as, 'checked aileron rigging within limits.' There was no record of the airplane being test flown after the write up. Post-accident examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector, revealed control continuity to all flight controls.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.