Cessna A152 accident near Rockwall, Texas, October 2, 1997
On October 2, 1997 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Cessna A152, registered N4957A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall Municipal 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 recovery from a bounced landing and her failure to maintain directional control during the aborted landing. Factors were the wind gust and the turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 2, 1997 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Rockwall, Texas · Rockwall Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A152 · all A152s on the register
- Registration
- N4957A · registry record · serial A1520915
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The operator reported that the 63-hour student pilot was endorsed for a solo round-robin flight from the Rockwall Municipal Airport, to Mesquite, Texas, where she was cleared to practice takeoffs and landings. On her return flight to the Rockwall Airport, the student pilot lost control of the airplane during her landing roll on runway 16 after she 'got too low on final approach and she encountered turbulence from the hangars located at the northwest corner of the airport.' After losing control, the student pilot applied full power in an attempt to abort the landing. She added that the airplane managed to get airborne at 40 to 50 knots; however, the main landing gear impacted the airport's perimeter fence with the landing gear and the airplane nosed over coming to rest in 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: 63 hours in all; 63 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,850 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 20, 1997; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HQZ Mesquite TX at 3:20 pm
- Destination: F46
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 3,371 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.