Cessna 152 accident near Hobart, Oklahoma, June 16, 1996
On June 16, 1996 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N93139, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hobart, Oklahoma. 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 became lost/disoriented, and failed to properly use information that was provided by ATC, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and an encounter with soft terrain during an emergency landing. A factor relating to the accident was: the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 16, 1996 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hobart, Oklahoma · 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
- N93139 · no longer on the register · serial 15285414
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had planned a cross-country from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Hobart, Oklahoma. This was his second cross-country flight and was planned for 2 hours and 20 minutes. En route, the airplane was vectored around 2 airports with NOTAMed airspace, then the pilot was cleared to resume his own navigation. Several times, the pilot contacted ATC controllers and obtained headings to the destination. While being vectored, the engine lost power about 6 miles from the destination after the airplane was airborne about 4 hours and 45 minutes. During a subsequent forced landing, the airplane nosed over in soft terrain. No usable fuel was found in the airplane.
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: 60 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,888 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 7, 1996; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RVS Tulsa OK at 4:45 pm
- Destination: HBR
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 97°F (36°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from HBR, 6 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.
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.