Cessna 152 accident near Hazel Green, Alabama, October 29, 1988
On October 29, 1988 at about 5:35 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N555DU, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hazel Green, Alabama (Hazel Green 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1988 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- Hazel Green, Alabama · Hazel Green · map
- Type
- Accident
- 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
- N555DU · no longer on the register · serial 1520759
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND THE PRE-SOLO STUDENT CRASHED AFTER TAKEOFF ABOUT 1/2 MILE FROM THE HAZEL GREEN AIRPORT. THE ACFT HAD BEEN OPERATED ABOUT ONE HOUR SINCE THE ORIGINAL TAKEOFF FROM HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT REPORTED THAT ABOUT 12 GALLONS OF FUEL WAS ON BOARD AT HUNTSVILLE. THE WRECKAGE EXAMINATION REVEALED ONLY A SMALL QUANTITY OF FUEL IN THE FUEL SYSTEM.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,469 hours in all; 251 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 1,318 as pilot in command; 503 on instruments
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,911 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 24, 1988; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Hazel Green AL at 5:30 pm
- Destination: Huntsville AL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 7, 2,670 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.