Cessna 152 accident near West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1998
On March 15, 1998 at about 2:40 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N67893, was destroyed in an accident near West Mifflin, Pennsylvania (Allegheny County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A related factor was the pilot's impairment due to the use of drugs.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 15, 1998 · about 2:40 pm local time
- Place
- West Mifflin, Pennsylvania · Allegheny County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N67893 · no longer on the register · serial 15282080
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was in the traffic pattern practicing touch and go landings and had completed one landing. The airplane was on the downwind leg for the second landing when the control tower lost radio contact with the pilot. The pilot of another airplane in the traffic pattern located the accident airplane at the point where the pilot would turn from the downwind leg to the base leg. A witness, near the accident site, said he saw a small airplane in a 'straight down dive.' The airplane impacted the ground in a near vertical position and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not disclose any structural or mechanical anomalies. Toxicological tests of the pilot revealed 0.015 (ug/ml, ug/g) diphenhydramine in blood, 0.012 (ug/ml, ug/g) doxylamine in blood, and unquantified levels of trimethoprim, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine in blood. Diphenhydramine and doxylamine are sedating over-the-counter antihistamines, and the levels detected in blood indicate they may have been used by the pilot more than 24 hours before the accident flight. Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant, phenylpropanolamine is a metabolite of pseudoephedrine, and trimethoprim is a prescription antibiotic. In the Code of Federal Regulations, 14 CFR 91.17, it states: 'No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft...While using any drug that affects the person's faculties in any way contrary to safety... .'
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: 82 hours in all; 82 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 9 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,009 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 17, 1997; 64 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: O.T. Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: AGC PA at 2:28 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 3,824 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 pm from AGC, 7 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.