Cessna 152 accident near Summerfield, Florida, August 16, 2001
On August 16, 2001 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N69120, was substantially damaged in an accident near Summerfield, Florida. 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 poor in-flight planning decision by the student pilot for his failure to turn around to avoid low ceilings resulting in a precautionary landing in a field. A contributing factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience. A finding in the investigation was the pilot's intentional flight into instrument meteorologiocal conditions (IMC) on 2 separate occasions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 2001 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Summerfield, Florida · 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
- N69120 · no longer on the register · serial 15282495
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he was on a cross-country flight in preparation for a checkride that was scheduled for August 20, 2001. The first leg from Kissimmee to Brooksville was uneventful. The flight departed for the second leg and while en route, the cloud base decreased, resulting in his flying at a lower altitude. The flight continued and when it was near the destination, the weather became increasingly worse. The flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and he elected to continue flying in IMC due to a thunderstorm that was behind the airplane. He then elected to turn to get out of the IMC conditions but momentarily lost control of the airplane. He recovered from the loss of control and descended to just above the treetops, then elected to get on top of the cloud layer and climbed into IMC conditions. He again descended and reversed course to back track. He was unable to locate landmarks and obtain assistance from air traffic control to his "Pan" calls on 121.5. With a thunderstorm moving from west to east he elected to land in a field and flew downwind, base, and final leg. He landed the airplane in the field but during the landing roll, the airplane collided with a fence collapsing the nose landing gear. He secured the airplane and waited for further assistance. According to the Operations Manager for the operator, examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane touched down in a first field then rolled approximately 1,000 feet before colliding with the barbed wire fence. During recovery of the airplane from the field, each fuel tank had 5+ gallons of fuel; the left wing fuel tank had slightly less fuel when recovered.
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; 50 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 7 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,297.5 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 23, 2001; 78.3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Orlando Flight Training, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KBKV Brooksville FL at 12:55 pm
- Destination: KOCF Ocala FL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from KOCF
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 N69120 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.