Cessna 152 N48869

Summary

On 9 June 2011 at about 14:14 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N48869, operated by Space Coast Aviation, was involved in an accident near Vero Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 June 2011 at 14:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Vero Beach, Florida, United States

Coordinates

27.6861, -80.7728

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N48869

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Space Coast Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merritt Island → Okeechobee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FA332

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight departed on a visual flight rules personal flight and did not return to the operator’s home base at its scheduled time. The operator began calling other airports trying to locate the airplane and cell phone companies in an attempt to locate the pilot by her cell phone. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an Alert Notice; after several hours of searching the wreckage was located. There were no witnesses to the accident. Review of radar data revealed that in the last few minutes of flight the airplane made several maneuvering turns. The reason the pilot chose to maneuver in that location is unknown. The final maneuvers included a 70-degree right turn to a heading of 180 degrees. About 2 minutes later, the airplane made a 360-degree left turn, and radar contact was lost. The radar data was consistent with cruise speed throughout the flight, except for the last return, which indicated that the airplane had slowed significantly. Postaccident wreckage signatures were consistent with a spinning descent and impact, indicating that the airplane likely entered an aerodynamic stall from which the pilot did not recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.