Cessna 152 accident near Spring, Texas, August 17, 1996
On August 17, 1996 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N89032, 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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during a touch-and-go, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve, an encounter with soft terrain, and a nose over of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 17, 1996 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Spring, Texas · David Wayne Hooks · 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
- N89032 · no longer on the register · serial 15282603
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the solo pilot, she had been cleared by her flight instructor to stay in the traffic pattern at the David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport to practice landings. After departing on runway 17L, she was cleared by the tower for a touch-and-go landing on runway 17R. According to the pilot, after touching down on runway 17R, she applied full power to initiate the takeoff phase of the touch-and-go. Control was lost, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway and went into grass. The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that she 'panicked and failed to close the throttle.' The nose landing gear sank in soft ground, and the airplane nosed over, collapsing the nose landing gear.
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: 41 hours in all; 41 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,452 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 17, 1996; 96 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 1:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 7,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:30 pm from DWH
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.