Cessna 152 accident near Lantana, Florida, August 15, 1996
On August 15, 1996 at about 6:10 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N89405, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lantana, Florida (Lantana airport). It was a personal 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 pilot misjudged the flare, resulting in a hard landing, and the nose gear collapsing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 15, 1996 · about 6:10 pm local time
- Place
- Lantana, Florida · Lantana · 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
- N89405 · no longer on the register · serial 15282735
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight had landed on runway 15. An FAA inspector, at the airport at the time, saw the airplane on the runway with the 'nose wheel collapsed.' According to his statement, '...the nose wheel was driven into the lower cowling with enough force to lock the control yoke in the full up position...[and] there appeared to be considerable wrinkling of the external skin on the fuselage and the wings.' The pilot stated, all he could remember was, when he lowered the nose, the airplane touched down nose first on the runway. The FAA inspector stated; '...I feel that it required extremely hard ground contact to cause the amount of damage that the aircraft sustained. Inspection of the runway surface showed that an initial heavy nose wheel strike occurred in the center of runways 15 and 21, followed by one prop strike indentation in the runway about 15 feet later, and then skid marks indicating that the nose wheel had collapsed and was sliding sideways.' The airplane came to rest on the right side of the runway, about 250 feet from the point of initial impact.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 209 hours in all; 208 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 181 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,853 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 1996; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LNA at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 3,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.