Cessna 152 accident near La Porte, Texas, September 22, 1999
On September 22, 1999 at about 1:30 am local time, a Cessna 152, registered N5093Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near La Porte, Texas (La Porte 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 hard landing as result of his improper landing flare and his improper recovery from a bounced landing. Factors were the prevailing dark night conditions and the student pilot's lack of total experience in night operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 22, 1999 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- La Porte, Texas · La Porte Municipal · 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
- N5093Q · registry record · serial 15285073
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The solo student pilot landed the airplane hard on the nose landing gear after touching down long on the 4,165 foot long runway. The airplane subsequently bounced and porpoised, resulting in the collapse of the nose landing gear. The student pilot was scheduled for a two-leg day VFR cross country flight. During the first leg of the flight, the student pilot was temporarily disoriented, and ended up flying 30 minutes beyond his intended destination. The pilot was able to land at an airport, where he topped off the airplane with fuel. The unscheduled landing delayed the pilot's scheduled itinerary by at least one hour. Dark night conditions prevailed by the time he entered the traffic pattern on the downwind leg for runway 30. The pilot reported that he was high on his first approach, and executed a go-around. The student pilot had 2.6 hours of night flight with his flight instructor, and he had not been cleared for night solo flights.
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: 34 hours in all; 34 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,617 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 10, 1999; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Harvey & Rihn Aviation INC.
The flight
- Departed from: VCT Victoria TX
- Destination: T41
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 30, 4,165 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°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.