Cessna 152 accident near Crystal, Minnesota, May 24, 1997
On May 24, 1997 at about 6:55 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N5499B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Crystal, Minnesota (Crystal airport). It was a personal 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 student pilot's misjudged flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing. A factor was the lack of recent flight time.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 24, 1997 · about 6:55 pm local time
- Place
- Crystal, Minnesota · Crystal
- 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
- N5499B · no longer on the register · serial 15283888
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was executing touch-and-go landings. The airplane touched down and bounced back into the air followed by a second bounce where the pilot attempted to go around by retracting the flaps and then adding power. The airplane then stalled and hit on the runway collapsing the nose gear. In the previous 90 days the pilot had flown 2.5 hours.
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: 58 hours in all; 58 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 10 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,312 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 2, 1997; 44 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: MIC
- Destination: MIC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 5L, 2,499 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:57 pm from MIC
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.
Other NTSB records under N5499B the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.