Cessna 152 N47257

Summary

On 21 January 2003 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N47257 was involved in an accident near Norman, Oklahoma, 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

21 January 2003 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Norman, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.1736, -97.2169

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N47257

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chickasha → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03FA086

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, resulting in an inadvertent stall . Factors contributing to the accident were the low altitude and the prevailing high winds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 3,300-hour commercial pilot lost control of the airplane while circling an area of disturbed dirt along the path of a buried pipeline during an aerial observation flight (pipeline patrol). The operator reported that pipeline patrolling is normally performed from an altitude of 400 to 500 feet above the ground. The range of the airplane, when all tanks are full of fuel is 6 hours; however, the company procedures are to not exceed 4 hours between refueling stops. The operator reported that the pipeline being patrolled at the time of the accident was aligned on a heading of 50-60 degrees. The prevailing winds at the time of the accident were reported from 030 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 19 knots. The hand-held GPS on-board the airplane provided the track of the airplane to impact with the ground. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine that could have prevented normal flight operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.