Cessna 152 N94838

Summary

On 2 July 2010 at about 01:00 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N94838, operated by Justice Aviation, was involved in an accident near Venice, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 July 2010 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Venice, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Monica Muni Airport (SMO)

Coordinates

34.0081, -118.4575

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N94838

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Justice Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Monica → Santa Monica

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10FA325

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and airplane control during initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and subsequent impact with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff climb following a touch-and-go landing, the pilot communicated with a tower controller that he needed to return to the airport for landing, but did not indicate the type of problem. Witnesses observed the airplane make a 90-degree left turn and enter into a spiraling nose-dive before losing sight of it behind a tree line. The airplane subsequently impacted a copse of trees on a golf course. During the on-scene inspection, investigators identified all major flight controls of the airplane at the main wreckage area, and the smell of fuel was present at the accident site. The propeller separated from the propeller hub assembly and came to rest just forward of the main wreckage. One propeller blade had chordwise scratching with leading edge gouging; the other propeller blade was relatively undamaged. Both wings remained in their normal relative position and attached to the fuselage. The empennage section was twisted and folded over to the right. The tail section separated from the empennage, but remained attached via its control cables. All flight controls remained connected on site. The operator reported no mechanical problems in the weeks between the annual/100-hour inspections and the date of the accident. During the reconstruction investigators found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.