On November 21, 1992, a Cessna A152 (registration N46762) operated by Hill Afb Aero Club was involved in an aviation accident near Tremonton, UT. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The instructor's failure to ensure adequate runway remained for a safe stop during an aborted takeoff initiated late in the ground roll. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 2 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A Cessna 152 overshot the runway after an instructor aborted a downwind takeoff attempt during an instructional flight, resulting in damage to the aircraft.
What happened
During an instructional flight, a student pilot operating a Cessna 152 attempted to execute a takeoff from the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. The aircraft was configured with flaps set to zero degrees. Approximately two-thirds of the way down the runway, the flight instructor initiated an abort of the takeoff maneuver. Despite the late initiation of the stop, the instructor was unable to bring the aircraft to a halt before it departed the paved surface at the end of the runway.
The investigation
The factual narrative indicates that the primary issue was the insufficient remaining runway distance available to decelerate the aircraft after the abort decision was made. The configuration of the flaps and the downwind heading likely contributed to the ground roll distance exceeding the available pavement length.
Probable cause
The instructor's failure to ensure adequate runway remained for a safe stop during an aborted takeoff initiated late in the ground roll.