Cessna 152 accident near Santa Ana, California, June 24, 1998
On June 24, 1998, a Cessna 152, registered N67421, was destroyed in an accident near Santa Ana, California (John Wayne Apt/Orange CO. airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot-in-command to identify a proper touchdown point on the runway and maintain an appropriate glidepath so as to remain clear of vortex turbulence from the preceding large aircraft. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to initiate a go-around in the known presence of vortex turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 1998
- Place
- Santa Ana, California · John Wayne Apt/Orange CO. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N67421 · no longer on the register · serial 15281828
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While the solo student pilot of the Cessna 152 was on downwind leg for landing, the air traffic controller directed the student's attention to a Boeing 757 aircraft that was preceding the student's aircraft for landing on the parallel runway. The threshold of the parallel runway is abeam and 500 feet to the right of the runway the student was to land on. The controller then advised of a 10-knot quartering headwind from the right, issued a wake turbulence precaution, and cleared the student pilot for the landing option. Witnesses reported that as the student pilot was on final approach, descending through approximately 100-foot altitude (agl), the aircraft abruptly rolled inverted and crashed short of the runway threshold. The Safety Board prepared a Study of Wake Turbulence Encounter using data from the Boeing 757's flight data recorder, tower communication tapes, and tower reported surface winds. The report concluded that the Cessna 152 descended into the Boeing 757's wake when the wake was 37 to 41 seconds old. The student's flight instructor told the Safety Board that the student, who had 136 hours of dual instruction and 20 hours of solo flight time, had received instruction in wake turbulence avoidance at three points in ground instruction. Furthermore, the instructor said that training as they had at the air carrier airport, most flights involved wake turbulence avoidance.
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: 157 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 21 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,388 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 26, 1998; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19L, 2,887 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 57°F (14°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.