Cessna 152 accident near El Toro, California, January 27, 1988
On January 27, 1988, a Cessna 152, registered N4914H, was destroyed in an accident near El Toro, California (El Toro Mcas 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
- January 27, 1988
- Place
- El Toro, California · El Toro Mcas
- 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
- N4914H · no longer on the register · serial 15284017
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT PLT WAS PRACTICING TOUCH-&-GO LANDINGS & WAS CLEARED FOR AN APCH BEHIND A C-130. HE STATED THAT HE NOTED THE TOUCHDOWN POINT OF THE C-130 & PLANNED HIS APCH TO REMAIN ABOVE THE C-130'S FLT PATH. HOWEVER, JUST BEFORE LANDING, WHEN THE ACFT WAS AT ABOUT 10' AGL, IT ENCTRD WAKE TURBULANCE FROM THE C-130. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT LANDED HARD & THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. FIRE ERUPTED, BUT IT WAS QUICKLY EXTINGUISHED BY FIRE/RESCUE PERSONNEL. AN EXAM OF THE SKID MARKS REVEALED THE CESSNA HAD CONTACTED THE RWY WELL SHORT OF WHERE MOST OF THE C-130 TRAFFIC HAD BEEN LANDING.
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: 32 hours in all; 32 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 3 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,939 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 1987; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NZJ at 11:50 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 34, 8,000 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 1 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.