Cessna 152A accident near Post Mills, Vermont, September 4, 1985
On September 4, 1985 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Cessna 152A, registered N4976A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Post Mills, Vermont (Post Mills airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 1985 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Post Mills, Vermont · Post Mills
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152A · all 152As on the register
- Registration
- N4976A · no longer on the register · serial A1520923
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER REVIEWING AIR MANEUVERS, A NORMAL APCH WAS MADE TO LAND ON RWY 22. THE ACFT LANDED ON ALL 3 WHEELS & BOUNCED INTO THE AIR, THEN IT WENT TO THE LEFT OF THE RWY. WHILE THE PLT WAS TURNING RIGHT TO AVOID TREES & TO RECOVER FROM THE BOUNCED LANDING, THE RIGHT WING & NOSE WHEEL COLLIDED WITH THE RWY. THE NOSE WHEEL COLLAPSED & THE LEFT WING COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. THE ACFT CAME TO REST IN A NEAR LEVEL ATTITUDE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,443 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 3,119 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 860 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 6, 1985; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.