Cessna 152 accident near Mcallen, Texas, June 19, 2000
On June 19, 2000 at about 11:50 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N94290, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcallen, Texas. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Loss of engine power for reasons undetermined. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 19, 2000 · about 11:50 pm local time
- Place
- Mcallen, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N94290 · registry record · serial 15285641
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that while climbing through 1,500 feet, 'the engine temperature was increasing more than normal.' After a few minutes had passed, the instructor noticed that the oil temperature gauge needle was in the red arc. The instructor lowered the nose to cool the engine; however, the engine lost total power. After several attempts to restart the engine had failed, the instructor initiated a forced landing to an airstrip. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted trees, the nose and right main landing gear separated, and the fuselage buckled aft. Post accident-examination by an FAA inspector revealed no anomalies with the engine.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,300 hours in all; 1,600 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 2,000 as pilot in command; 1,550 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,830 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 12, 2000; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MFE TX at 11:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 17 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW00LA182.