Cessna 152 N5366B

Summary

On 31 January 1997 at about 23:50 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N5366B, operated by Crabtree Aircraft Co., Inc., was involved in an accident near Guthrie, Oklahoma, 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

31 January 1997 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Guthrie, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.8397, -97.4191

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N5366B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Crabtree Aircraft Co., Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97FA097

2 people died.

The flight instructor's failure to obtain/maintain clearance with the power line. A factor was the sunglare from the setting sun, which could have impaired the flight instructor's ability to see the power line.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a pre-solo dual instructional flight in the traffic pattern, the Cessna 152 impacted a power line 1.5 nautical miles (nm) south of the non-towered airport. A witness observed the Cessna flying over runway 16 and, approximately one minute later, observed a twin engine turboprop MU-2 land on runway 34. This witness reported that before the MU-2 exited the runway, the electricity went off at the airport. Witnesses south of the airport reported seeing/hearing a small single engine airplane reduce power, descend low over their houses, and continue south. A witness southwest of the airport heard a twin engine airplane heading northeast, and approximately 30 seconds later, observed the Cessna impact the power line. A 911 call reporting the accident was recorded at 1749, and an electrical power outage was recorded at 1750. These times could not be correlated with radar data, which indicated that, at 1749, the Cessna was 1/4 nm northeast of the airport on a left base for runway 16, while the MU-2 was 5 nm northeast of the airport. Since no further radar returns were recorded for the Cessna, it was not possible to ascertain whether an imminent collision threat occurred between the Cessna and the MU-2. Post-accident examination of the Cessna revealed no evidence of mechanical discrepancies. The sun set at 1756 on a heading of 238 degrees from the airport, indicating the Cessna pilots would have had to look into the setting sun to see the power line, which was located west of the extended centerline of runway 16.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.