Cessna 152 accident near N. Stonington, Connecticut, December 20, 1999
On December 20, 1999 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N757NU, was substantially damaged in an accident near N. Stonington, Connecticut (Private airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while landing. A factor in this accident was the pilot's lack of recent flight experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 20, 1999 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- N. Stonington, Connecticut · Private
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N757NU · no longer on the register · serial 152-79880
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While landing on a 1,600 foot-long, 50 foot-wide private airstrip owned by the pilot, the airplane's left wing contacted trees 10 to 15 feet above the ground, on the left side of the runway. The airplane then struck and came to rest on a stone wall. The pilot retired as an airline pilot with over 21,000 hours of total flight experience, in June 1991. He reported no flight time accumulated in the six months prior to his most recent FAA medical certificate which was issued on November 11, 1999. The medical certificate issued to the pilot prior to November 1999, was in March 1993. The pilot also owned the airplane, which had been operated about 26 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed on October 23, 1991. Examination of the wreckage did not revealed any pre-impact failures of the airframe or engine.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 21,025 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 406 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 23, 1991; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 1,600 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.