SURPRISE, AZ, USA
N48WT
Cessna 152
The pilot is chief pilot for a flight school, and reported that a renter pilot had made an emergency landing in a cow pasture in the accident airplane after running out of fuel. The airplane sat in the field unattended over the weekend. The pilot and one of the school's mechanics assessed the damage; none was found. The pilot planned to transport the airplane back to the airport. He put in fuel and performed a preflight and control check with no noted discrepancies. The pilot and the mechanic then moved the airplane to a rough dirt road; the pilot measured the available takeoff distance about 1,500 feet. He reported that the takeoff and initial climb out seemed normal, but the airplane then started turning left. The pilot applied right rudder and aileron but was not able to stop the turn. His airspeed was in the 50-knot range, but about 35 to 40 feet agl, the airplane began to settle while still in an 18- to 20-degree left bank. The stall warning indicator did not activate at any time. The left wing tip impacted the ground, followed by the nose of the airplane. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot stated that the winds alternated from calm to light and variable at 1 to 2 knots at the time of the accident. A postcrash examination revealed that the flaps, ailerons, and rudders operated normally. No mechanical discrepancies were found with any airframe or engine system.
On November 29, 1999, about 1405 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 152, N48WT, collided with the ground during takeoff from an open field in Surprise, Arizona, about 15 miles northwest of Glendale, Arizona. The airplane, operated by The Global Group, Inc., Glendale, was substantially damaged. The pilot, who held a commercial certificate for single engine airplanes, was not injured. The positioning flight, conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Glendale. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot is the chief pilot of a 14 CFR Part 141 flight school in Glendale. He reported that on November 26, a renter pilot had been returning to Glendale and had made an emergency landing in the field after running out of fuel. The renter pilot reported that there was no damage to the airplane or to the occupants. The airplane sat in the field unattended over the weekend. The chief pilot and his mechanic went out to assess the damage, and none was found. The purpose of the accident flight was to transport the airplane back to Glendale. The pilot reported that they moved the airplane to a dirt road next to the field and put in about 17 gallons of fuel. He performed a preflight and control check, during which he noted no discrepancies. He took off with 10 degrees of flaps and rotated at 55 knots after an approximate 1,250-foot ground roll. The pilot stated that the climbout seemed normal. He pushed the nose of the airplane over a few degrees and noted that the airspeed was adequate. The airplane started turning left. The pilot applied right rudder and aileron but was not able to stop the turn. He stated that his airspeed was in the 50-knot range, but about 35 to 40 feet agl, the airplane began to settle while still in an 18- to 20-degree left bank. The stall warning indicator did not activate at any time. The left wing tip impacted the ground, followed by the nose of the airplane. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that he didn't hear anything unusual during the accident flight. The mechanic witnessed the accident and reported that he didn't hear anything unusual. He saw the airplane bank left after takeoff, then impact the ground. The pilot stated that the winds seemed to alternate from calm to light and variable around the time of the accident. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Scottsdale Flight Standards District Office examined the airplane following the accident. He reported that the ailerons, flaps, and rudders operated normally. No mechanical discrepancies were found with the flight controls or the engine.
The pilot's failure to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed during takeoff from a short and unimproved dirt road, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush condition and impact with the ground.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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