Cessna 152 accident near Jackson Twnshp, New Jersey, August 16, 1998
On August 16, 1998 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N89144, was destroyed in an accident near Jackson Twnshp, New Jersey. 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 flight (check pilot) instructor's excessive pull-up maneuver and his inadvertent entry into a low altitude stall/spin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 1998 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Jackson Twnshp, New Jersey
- 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
- N89144 · no longer on the register · serial 15282648
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot wanted to have her commercial maneuvers evaluated by her flight instructor (check pilot). She also asked, and he agreed, that they could make a pass by her parents' house so they could see her fly. After the private pilot made a low pass, the flight instructor took control of the airplane about 500 feet above ground, then pulled it up until it entered a stall/spin. The aircraft then descended impacting tress and terrain.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,279 hours in all; 524 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days; 1,131 as pilot in command; 809 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,019 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 30, 1998; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BLM Belmar NJ at 4:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from EWR, 38 miles away
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.