Cessna 152 accident near Houston, Texas, January 26, 2007
On January 26, 2007 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N83HT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Houston, Texas (David Wayne Hooks Memorial Air 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 encounter with porpoise following a hard landing and the improper recovery from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 2007 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Houston, Texas · David Wayne Hooks Memorial Air · 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
- N83HT · no longer on the register · serial 15284819
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 40-hour solo student pilot did not recover from a bounced landing after the single-engine airplane porpoised following a hard landing on runway 17L (35 foot wide, 3,987 feet long, dry asphalt). During landing, the airplane landed hard, bounced, porpoised several times until the nose landing gear collapsed and the propeller contacted the runway. An FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported structural damage to the engine mounts and the engine firewall.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 40 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 4 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17,742 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: High Tech Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: DWH Houston TX at 6:10 pm
- Destination: DWH Houston TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17L, 3,987 ft by 35 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
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.