Cessna 152 accident near Troy, Michigan, May 30, 1996
On May 30, 1996 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N49459, was substantially damaged in an accident near Troy, Michigan (Big Beaver airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while recovering from a bounced landing. Factors associated with the accident were the misjudged landing flare and the raised taxiway edge which the airplane contacted.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 1996 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Troy, Michigan · Big Beaver · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N49459 · no longer on the register · serial 15281285
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot reported the airplane bounced on landing. While airborne it turned to the left and touched back down heading off the left side of the runway. The airplane continued off the runway into a grass area prior to contacting a 4' raised berm at a perpendicular taxiway. Upon contacting the berm, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane raised up onto its nose. The right wing contacted the terrain as the airplane settled back onto its main landing gear.
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: student
- Flight time: 79 hours in all; 79 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 23 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,945 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 5, 1996; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LAN Lansing MI at 9:00 pm
- Destination: 3BB
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9, 2,400 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:45 pm from PTK, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.