Cessna 152 accident near Monticello, Indiana, November 13, 1998
On November 13, 1998 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N5213B, was destroyed in an accident near Monticello, Indiana (White County Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
low altitude stall and an ostentatious display by the pilot. Factors associated with this accident were the performance of a low altitude maneuver and an abrupt pullup by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 13, 1998 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Monticello, Indiana · White County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N5213B · registry record · serial 152-83804
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instructor pilot said he was going to demonstrate a short field takeoff from a soft field. After takeoff he said he pitched the airplane to its best rate of climb attitude. Once attaining the desired airspeed the pilot said he pitched the airplane up to attain its best angle of climb speed. Witnesses reported hearing an occupant in the accident airplane say, 'Watch this takeoff' to a friend who was taxiing another airplane at the accident airport. The accident airplane lifted off the runway and remained in ground effect until passing over the clearway at the runway's departure end. Witnesses said the airplane pitched up steeply, rolled to the right and descended nose first into the trees and ground. The student pilot on the accident airplane said his instructor took the airplane off, leveled it about 3 to 5 feet above the runway and pitched it up to about 60-degrees. He said he heard the stall horn activate and recalled the airplane banking to the right and pitching down. The airplane collided with the trees and ground shortly after beginning its descent. The on-scene investigation revealed no anomalies with the airframe, flight control system or engine that would prevent flight. The wing flaps were in the retracted position. The pilot's operating handbook states that 10-degreees of flaps should be used during the short and soft field takeoff.
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: 745 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 555 as pilot in command; 395 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,070 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 25, 1998; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MCL IN at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 4,002 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 pm from LAF, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.