Cessna 152 N49016

Summary

On 3 August 1992 at about 16:06 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N49016, operated by Action Technical Associates, was involved in an accident near Maricopa, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 August 1992 at 16:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Maricopa, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N49016

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Action Technical Associates

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glendale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX92FA331

1 person died.

THE PILOT EXCEEDED THE DESIGN STRESS LIMITS OF THE AIRPLANE STRUCTURE BY ATTEMPTING AN ABRUPT MANEUVER AT A SPEED IN EXCESS OF THE MANEUVERING SPEED.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THERE WERE NO EYE WITNESSES'S TO THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO THE OPERATOR, THE PILOT RENTED THE AIRPLANE TO PRACTICE GROUND REFERENCE MANEUVERS IN THE SOUTH PRACTICE AREA. THE WEATHER WAS VMC, AND OTHER PILOTS FLYING IN THE VICINITY REPORTED NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER PHENOMONA. TWELVE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AT THE PILOTS THIRD CLASS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE RENEWAL HE REPORTED 480 TOTAL FLIGHT HOURS WITH NO HOURS IN THE PRECEEDING SIX MONTHS. ACCORDING TO FLIGHT SCHOOL RECORDS HE RECIEVED ABOUT 2.7 HOURS AFTER HIS MEDICAL, OF DUAL INSTRUCTION AND A BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW. THE PILOT THEN FLEW SOLO THROUGH JULY 7, 1992, FOR ABOUT 8.7 HOURS. ACCORDING TO THE METALLURGIST'S FACTUAL REPORT, THE WINGS LOWER STRUT ATTATCH POINTS FAILED DUE TO OVERSTRESS. CESSNA AIRCRAFT TESTED A 150K FUSELAGE DURING CERTIFICATION WORK ON THE A152 MODEL AND FOUND THAT THE LOWER LIFT STRUT ATTATCH FITTING FAILED AT 8.28 G'S. ENGINEERS CALCULATED THAT AN AIRSPEED OF 153.2 MPH WAS REQUIRED AT GROSS WEIGHT TO GENERATE THE 8.28 G LOAD WHICH CAUSED THE STRUT ATTATCH FAILURE. MANEUVERING SPEED FOR THE AIRCRAFT IS 103 MPH.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.