No fatalities

17 May 2011: CESSNA 152 — SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES DBA — Carbondale, IL

Carbondale, IL, United States

On 17 May 2011, a CESSNA 152 operated by SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES DBA was involved in an aviation accident near Carbondale, IL. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot's relinquishing of the flight controls during the landing flare and the flight instructor's delay in taking remedial action. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 13 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A student pilot on a flight review relinquished controls without warning, leading to a wingtip strike with substantial damage to wing ribs.

Accident Overview

A certified flight instructor (CFI) reported that the accident flight was a flight review for a student pilot who had failed the Private Pilot check ride the previous week. The CFI stated that the student pilot performed ground reference maneuvers and "lost" procedures within Private Pilot standards.

Approach and Go-Around

On the first landing attempt, the student pilot executed a go-around because the airplane was too high on final approach. During the second approach, the airplane was on airspeed but left of the runway centerline and about 5 feet above the runway when the student pilot initiated the flare.

Loss of Control

The CFI reported that the student pilot suddenly relinquished the flight controls without warning. The student pilot stated that he relinquished the controls to the CFI and said, "Your controls." The CFI then attempted to "salvage" the landing.

Wingtip Strike

During this attempt, the right wingtip contacted the runway, resulting in substantial damage to two ribs in the outboard section of the wing. The CFI did not recognize that the wingtip had struck the runway. The flight returned to the departure airport, and the damage was discovered during the postflight inspection of the airplane.

Contributing factors

Student pilotInstructor/check pilot