Cessna 152 accident near Spring, Texas, January 13, 1996
On January 13, 1996 at about 4:45 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N111UF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Spring, Texas (David Wayne Hooks 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 improper flare, improper recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to maintain directional control during the landing. The soft terrain was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 13, 1996 · about 4:45 pm local time · cases in 1996
- Place
- Spring, Texas · David Wayne Hooks · cases near this 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
- N111UF · registry record · serial 15283283
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 65-hour student pilot had been cleared for a solo flight to practice touch and go landings. While landing on runway 17L, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and porpoised a couple of times. The airplane then departed the left side of the runway. When the airplane departed the runway, the nose wheel sank in the soft ground and the airplane nosed over to the inverted position.
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: 65 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 30 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,496 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 12, 1996; 1 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: DWH at 4:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17L, 4,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:36 pm from DWH, 1 miles away
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N111UF on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 152 1,636 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,682 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C 84 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- David Wayne Hooks Memorial · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Texas 6,244 since 1982 · 1,064 in the last ten years
- Texas 29,966 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/FTW96LA097.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.