Cessna 152 accident near Jacksonville, North Carolina, April 5, 2005
On April 5, 2005 at about 4:05 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N48820, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jacksonville, North Carolina (Albert J Ellis airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power due to the failure of the carburetor mixture cable which resulted in fuel starvation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 2005 · about 4:05 pm local time
- Place
- Jacksonville, North Carolina · Albert J Ellis · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N48820 · no longer on the register · serial 15280982
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the certified flight instructor, after the engine run-up, the flight departed runway 23 to practice traffic pattern maneuvers. During the climb out the airplane started to make a "spitting" sound, the engine rpm dropped from 2500 rpm to 1900 rpm, and the airspeed decreased to 60 knots. The certified flight instructor took over the flight controls, and conducted a forced landing. The airplane landed approximately 145 yards off the departure end of runway 23 at which time the nose wheel gear collapsed. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing assembly was buckled. The nose gear was broken off of the engine mounts, and the firewall was buckled. Review of maintenance logbooks revealed no record of cable replacement within the 4859 flight hours. Examination of the engine controls revealed that the mixture cable was broken.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,620 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 25, 2005; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-l2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OAJ Jacksonville NC at 3:00 pm
- Destination: OAJ Jacksonville NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 7,100 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.23 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from OAJ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.