Cessna 152 accident near Fresno, California, April 21, 2000
On April 21, 2000 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 152, registered N152SC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fresno, California. 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
Fuel exhaustion during cruise flight due to the student pilot becoming disoriented and lost.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 21, 2000 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Fresno, California · 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
- N152SC · registry record · serial 15280265
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a solo instructional flight, the student pilot's airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing in a parking lot and collided with a trailer. The student pilot, whose flight experience consisted of a total of 28 hours, of which 4 hours were as pilot-in-command, initiated the planned 1-hour-long local area flight that was supposed to be performed within a 25-mile radius of the departure airport, as authorized by his flight instructor. The student became disoriented and confused regarding his direction of flight and began flying east instead of west. Upon flying for 3.25 hours, and traveling about 117 miles east of the departure airport, fuel exhaustion occurred.
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: 28 hours in all; 26 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 4 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,810 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2000; 45 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: HWD Hayward CA at 11:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 149°F (65°C), dew point 120°F (49°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 am from FAT, 9 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.
Other NTSB records under N152SC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX00LA165.