Cessna 152 accident near Louisburg, North Carolina, February 7, 2000
On February 7, 2000 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N69174, was substantially damaged in an accident near Louisburg, North Carolina (Franklin County 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 improper recovery from the bounced landing by the pilot-in-command for his failure to apply power and inadvertent stall by the pilot-in-command resulting in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the total lack of experience of the pilot-in-command.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 7, 2000 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Louisburg, North Carolina · Franklin County · 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
- N69174 · no longer on the register · serial 15282528
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While over the threshold of the second touch-and-go landing with the flaps fully extended, the pilot flared too soon and the airplane began to float. The airplane then touched down and bounced. After becoming airborne the student pilot applied aft elevator control input but did not apply power. The airplane then stalled, impacted hard on the runway to the left of the runway centerline, bounced again, then touched down off the left side of the runway. An automated weather observation taken on the airport about 26 minutes after the accident indicates in part that the wind was from 280 degrees at 7 knots.
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: 24 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 4 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,232 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 25, 1999; 99 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: First In Flight Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: LHZ at 9:06 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from LHZ
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.