Cessna 152 accident near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, May 30, 1996
On May 30, 1996 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N94647, was destroyed in an accident near Eau Claire, Wisconsin (Chippewa Valley Regional 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight instructor's inadequate supervision. A factor relating to the accident was: the student pilot's improper flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 1996 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Eau Claire, Wisconsin · Chippewa Valley Regional · 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
- N94647 · registry record · serial 15285749
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While performing practice crosswind landings, the student pilot pushed the yoke forward in the flare. The flight instructor said that he could not react in time, and the airplane struck nose gear first, collapsing the nose gear. When the nose gear collapsed, the upper-scissor assembly penetrated the belly skin and ruptured the main fuel line between the low-point drain and the gascolator. Subsequently, a fire erupted and the airplane was destroyed.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 609 hours in all; 77 in this make and model; 99 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 533 as pilot in command; 38 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 17, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: EAU at 9:30 pm
- Destination: EAU
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 7,301 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from EAU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N94647 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI96LA180.