Cessna 152 N6449M

Summary

On 5 October 2015 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 152 registered N6449M, operated by Upper Limit Aviation, was involved in an accident near Cedar City, Utah, 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

5 October 2015 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedar City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Cedar City Rgnl (CDC)

Coordinates

37.6483, -113.1986

Aircraft

Cessna 152

Registration

N6449M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1980

Engines

1

Operator

Upper Limit Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cedar City → Cedar City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR16FA002

2 people died.

The failure of the pilots to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall from which they did not recover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A company chief pilot was performing a company check flight of a newly hired flight instructor. Data recovered from an on-board flight tracking system indicated that the airplane was maneuvering about 3,000 ft above ground level in the accident area; the final 35 seconds of data showed a near vertical descent toward the accident location. A witness saw the airplane descending vertically in a slight nose-down attitude "like a fluttering leaf." The airplane impacted the ground in a slightly nose-down and wings-level attitude, and ground impact marks around the airplane did not indicate any forward momentum. Examination of the airframe and engine found no abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. The flight tracking data, the witness description, and the damage to the airplane are consistent with the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall and descending to ground impact. It could not be determined whether the stall was inadvertent or intentional (stall demonstration). Weight and balance calculations indicated that the airplane was about 40 pounds over maximum gross weight at takeoff and about 10 pounds over gross weight at the time of the accident; however, it is unlikely that this weight exceedance contributed to the loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.