21 Aug 2012: CESSNA 152 — Cloud Dancer Aviation

21 Aug 2012: CESSNA 152 — Cloud Dancer Aviation

No fatalities • Deland, FL, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control on final approach in gusting wind conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to operate in an environment of thunderstorms and rapidly deteriorating weather.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot stated she checked weather before departing on a maintenance flight in the airport traffic pattern. Some weather was located to the northwest. She departed and climbed to 1,000 feet above ground level, set the engine at cruise power, and completed the first traffic pattern. She started the second pattern and noticed the weather was moving towards the airport. As the airplane turned on to final approach, the winds increased, the airplane encountered strong turbulence, and her approach became unstable. She initiated a go-around; however, the airplane impacted the runway and came to rest inverted off the left side. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed structural damage to the airframe. Review of weather data revealed a wind shift occurred immediately prior to the accident, which was associated with nearby thunderstorms. The recorded wind speed about the time of the accident was 25 knots, gusting to 34 knots.

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • cause Descent/approach/glide path — Not attained/maintained
  • factor Ability to respond/compensate
  • factor Pilot
  • factor Decision related to condition

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 310/25kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.