Cessna 152 accident near Fairfax, Vermont, December 30, 1986
On December 30, 1986 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N94336, was destroyed in an accident near Fairfax, Vermont. 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
- December 30, 1986 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fairfax, Vermont
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N94336 · no longer on the register · serial 15285651
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CFI REPORTED THAT HE HAD INITIATED A SIMULATED ENG FAILURE FOR THE STUDENT. THE STUDENT RESPONDED PROPERLY TO THE SIMULATED EMERGENCY AND LINED THE ACFT UP ON AN APCH TO A FIELD. AT 200 FT AGL, THE STUDENT WAS INSTRUCTED TO GO-AROUND AT WHICH TIME FULL POWER WAS APPLIED AND CARB HEAT WAS REMOVED. FLAPS WERE RAISED TO THE TAKEOFF SETTING AND THE ACFT STABILIZED BUT WOULD NOT CLIMB. THE CFI TOOK CONTROL OF THE ACFT AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER IT STALLED AND SPUN INTO THE FIELD.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,153 hours in all; 970 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 1,020 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,796 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 11, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.