Cessna 152 accident near Imperial, California, August 31, 1997
On August 31, 1997 at about 4:50 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N65273, was substantially damaged in an accident near Imperial, California (Imperial County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing and to arrest porpoising after an improper recovery from a bounced landing. Factors in the accident were the misjudging of distance and speed during a downwind landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 1997 · about 4:50 pm local time
- Place
- Imperial, California · Imperial County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N65273 · no longer on the register · serial 15285285
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While on a solo cross-country flight, the student pilot made a steep approach to his destination runway. The runway chosen by the pilot had a 10-knot tailwind for the landing and he had extended the aircraft's flaps 10 degrees. The aircraft touched down about 1,200 feet from the end of the 5,304-foot-long runway and bounced twice before veering off the runway. Marks in the dirt indicated that the aircraft then porpoised three more times before the nose wheel collapsed and the aircraft nosed over.
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: 50 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,179 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 7, 1997; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHX Phoenix AZ at 2:30 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 32, 5,304 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from IPL
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 N65273 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.