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Accidents · NTSB LAX87LA023 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Cessna 152 accident near Scottsdale, Arizona, October 22, 1986

On October 22, 1986, a Cessna 152, registered N67752, was substantially damaged in an accident near Scottsdale, Arizona (Scottsdale 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 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
October 22, 1986
Place
Scottsdale, Arizona · Scottsdale · 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
N67752 · no longer on the register · serial 15281997
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

DURING A FIRST SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT, THE PILOT WAS TAKING OFF FROM HIS THIRD TOUCH-AND-GO WHEN AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET AGL THE RIGHT WING WAS SUDDENLY ROSE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN VEERED TO THE LEFT. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR THEN COLLIDED WITH A TAXIWAY MARKER AND THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN.

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: 26 hours in all; 26 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 5 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: left

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 3,193 hours
  • Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 2, 1986; 81 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
  • Operator: Deer Valley Aviation

The flight

  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 3, 8,251 ft by 75 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 40 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
  • Observation at 10:38 pm from SDL, 1 miles away

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.