Cessna 152 accident near Ocala, Florida, August 17, 1999
On August 17, 1999 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N5416M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ocala, Florida (Ocala 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
A misjudged flare and the failure of the student pilot to use the proper recovery technique for a bounced landing, allowing the airplane to commence a porpoise, and the eventual collapse of the nose landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 17, 1999 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- Ocala, Florida · Ocala 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
- N5416M · no longer on the register · serial 152-84584
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During his solo landing, the student pilot was observed to pull the nose up to the landing attitude a little early, relative to the height above the runway, hold the landing attitude, and touch down hard enough to cause a bounced landing. A series of oscillatory, porpoising maneuvers resulted, and the nose gear separated. The airplane slid to a stop on the main landing gear and the nose cowl.
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: 38 hours in all; 38 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,548 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 24, 1999; 19 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: OCF at 12:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 6,906 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from GNV, 35 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.
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.