Cessna 152 accident near Valdosta, Georgia, May 15, 2002
On May 15, 2002 at about 9:12 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N93989, was substantially damaged in an accident near Valdosta, Georgia (Valdosta Regional 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 failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff, resulting in an on ground encounter with an adjacent ditch and a collapsed nose gear strut during the attempt to abort the takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 15, 2002 · about 9:12 pm local time
- Place
- Valdosta, Georgia · Valdosta Regional · 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
- N93989 · registry record · serial 15285580
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the student pilot, with the surface wind from 130 degrees at 8 knots, the aircraft yawed left when he brought the nose wheel off the runway surface during rotation for takeoff from runway 17. He brought power to idle and braked when he exited off the runway's left edge, but the grass provided little decelerative effect, and he collided with a ditch. The nose gear strut collapsed, the firewall was buckled, and the left wing spar was bent.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 51 hours in all; 51 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 18 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,233 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 9, 2002; 7.3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,675 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VLD Valdosta GA at 9:12 pm
- Destination: AYS Waycross GA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 17, 6,302 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from VLD, 1 miles away
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 N93989 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.