Cessna 152 accident near Emigrant Gap, California, February 27, 1984
On February 27, 1984 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N25592, was substantially damaged in an accident near Emigrant Gap, California (Blue Canyon-Nyack airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 1984 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Emigrant Gap, California · Blue Canyon-Nyack · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N25592 · registry record · serial 15280752
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR PLT (CFI) WERE ON A DUAL X-COUNTRY FLT. THEY PROCEEDED TO FLY TO AN UNATTENDED ARPT AT EMIGRANT GAP, CA, WHICH WAS AT AN ELEVATION OF 5284 FT. AFTER ARRIVING, THEY CIRCLED THE ARPT & MADE A LOW PASS OVER THE RWY. THEY SAW TRACKS ON THE RWY & ASSUMED THAT ACFT HAD BEEN OPERATING FROM THE ARPT. (LATER, THEY LEARNED THAT THE TRACKS HAD BEEN MADE BY SNOW MOBILE TYPE VEHICLES.) THE CFI ASKED THE STUDENT TO MAKE A SOFT FIELD APCH & LANDING, THEN IMMEDIATELY GO AROUND WITHOUT LOWERING THE NOSE. HOWEVER, WHEN THE MAIN GEAR TOUCHED DOWN, THE WET, UNPACKED SNOW CREATED SUFFICIENT DRAG TO CAUSE THE NOSE TO DROP. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED & THE ACFT NOSED OVER. THE ARPT/FACILITY DIRECTORY STATED THAT THE ARPT WAS UNATTENDED & WAS CLOSED IN WINTER. THE INSTRUCTOR HAD NOT CHECKED THIS DIRECTORY, BUT HAD CHECKED 2 PRIVATE PUBLICATIONS.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,353 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 104 in the last 90 days; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,148 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 5, 1984; 64 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: SAC Sacramento CA at 10:30 pm
- Destination: SAC Sacramento CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 3,300 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots, gusting 7
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; not recorded at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:15 pm from BLU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N25592 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.