Cessna 152 accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, March 3, 2001
On March 3, 2001 at about 3:32 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N24950, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado (Walker Field 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 student pilot's failure to recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in porpoising and subsequently a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 3, 2001 · about 3:32 pm local time
- Place
- Grand Junction, Colorado · Walker Field Airport · 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
- N24950 · registry record · serial 15280467
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was practicing touch and go landings. The student said the landing initially appeared normal, but the airplane bounced several times before the nose gear buckled. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted.
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: 33 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,626 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 23, 2000; 79 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GJT Grand Junction CO at 2:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11, 1,050 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,500 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.78 inHg
- Observation at 3:30 pm from GJT
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 N24950 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.