Cessna 152 accident near Pottstown, Pennsylvania, May 6, 2004
On May 6, 2004 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N94577, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pottstown, Pennsylvania (Pottstown Limerick Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 2004 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pottstown, Pennsylvania · Pottstown Limerick Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N94577 · registry record · serial 15285736
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While practicing landings in the traffic pattern, during the landing flare, the student pilot noticed he was slightly left of centerline and applied full right rudder to correct. The nose of the airplane then turned sharply to the right, and the flight instructor applied left rudder to straighten it. However, the airplane had already drifted to the left side of the runway, touched down on the edge of the pavement, and the left wing impacted a tractor that was cutting the grass on the side of the runway.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 432 hours in all; 58 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 344 as pilot in command; 80 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 16, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PTW Pottstown PA
- Destination: PTW Pottstown PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 10, 3,371 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from PTW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N94577 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.