Cessna 152 N5357M

Summary

On 25 September 2000 at about 06:15 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N5357M was involved in an accident near Navasota, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 September 2000 at 06:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Navasota, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Easterwood Field (CLL)

Coordinates

30.3803, -96.0796

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N5357M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

College Station → Arlington

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW00FA268

2 people died.

the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation. Contributory factors were the clouds, dark night light conditions, the pilot's lack of total instrument flight time, and the pilot's self-induced pressure to complete the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot received two standard weather briefings for a VFR flight from Houston, Texas to Arlington, Texas. Both briefers informed the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended near Arlington; however, VFR flight would be possible to Waco, Texas. The pilot stated during both briefings that he needed to try and make it to Arlington. The flight departed Houston and diverted to College Station, Texas, due to weather. The flight remained on the ground in College Station for eight hours, during which time the pilot received three weather briefings. During the briefings, the weather briefers attempted to discourage the pilot from attempting the flight due to the en route weather. The pilot again indicated a need to reach his destination by the following morning and, subsequently, filed an IFR flight plan. The flight departed into dark night instrument meteorological conditions and 17 minutes later, the pilot reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the vacuum pump had failed. ATC provided the pilot with radar vectors back to the airport, during which time the pilot indicated that he was having trouble maintaining heading and altitude. Subsequently, ATC commenced a no gyro approach with the pilot. Seven minutes later, the airplane disappeared from radar. Search and rescue was initiated and the airplane was located in a pasture. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical nose down attitude. The pilot was issued an instrument rating on August 18, 2000. He had accumulated a total of 30.4 hours of simulated instrument flight time and 2.5 hours of actual instrument flight time. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would prevent normal operation of the aircraft. The vacuum pump drive shaft was found intact. Rotational scoring was found on components of the attitude indicator, heading indicator and turn and slip indicator.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.