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Accidents · NTSB WPR22LA320 · Final report

Cessna 152 accident near Ione, California, August 26, 2022

On August 26, 2022 at about 7:27 pm local time, a 1978 Cessna 152, registered N49430, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Ione, California (Priv airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The flight instructor’s delayed decision to abort the takeoff, which resulted in impact with a fence and a tree. Contributing to the accident was the instructor’s decision to land at the unfamiliar airstrip without determining whether it was within the airplane’s performance capabilities.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
August 26, 2022 · about 7:27 pm local time
Place
Ione, California · Priv · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Cessna 152, built 1978 · all 152s on the register
Registration
N49430 · no longer on the register · serial 15281260
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

During a discovery flight, the passenger asked the instructor if they could land at a private airstrip near his residence. The instructor was not familiar with this particular airstrip, nor had he consulted the airplane’s performance charts to determine if a safe landing and takeoff could be completed, but he still agreed to land. After landing to the west, the instructor turned the airplane around to depart to the east, as the wind appeared calm. He performed a short-field takeoff and observed the engine speed advance as the airplane began to move down the runway. When the airplane was about midfield, the instructor noticed that both his digital and analog airspeed indicators displayed 0 knots. Shortly after making this observation, after the airplane had traveled about 3/4 of the total length of the 1,300-ft-long runway, he decided to abort the landing. The airplane subsequently collided with a fence at the end of the runway and trees beyond the runway edge. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airframe or engine that could have precluded normal operation. Examination of the pitot/static system did not indicate any failures or blockages. Performance computations indicated that the airplane had the required performance to complete the takeoff from a paved, level runway; however, the departure runway was composed of dirt, which the takeoff performance chart did not account for. Performance charts also indicated that the airplane did not have the distance necessary to stop when the instructor aborted the takeoff to avoid impacting the fence at the end of the runway. Therefore, the instructor’s delayed decision to abort the takeoff resulted in a collision with a fence and a tree. His decision to land at the unfamiliar airstrip without determining whether the airplane’s performance capabilities were adequate to perform a safe takeoff and landing contributed to the accident.

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

What happened, in order

  1. Collision during takeoff/land during takeoff defining event

The NTSB's findings

  • Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
  • Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Performance calculations › Pilot

Pilot

  • Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
  • Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 373.7 hours in all; 119.2 in this make and model; 72.4 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 273.7 as pilot in command; 65 on instruments
  • Last flight review: April 25, 2021
  • Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
  • Seat: rgt
  • Injury: minor injuries

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 5,841 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2022; 1 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 3,383 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: 1O3 Lodi CA at 7:00 pm
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway east, 1,300 ft by 50 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 020° at 3 knots
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
  • Observation at 12:35 pm from KCPU, 13 miles away

Weather report (METAR): KCPU 261935Z AUTO 02003KT 10SM CLR 33/10 A2996 RMK AO2 T03330099

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1
Passengers1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

9 documents, released by the NTSB on April 10, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.

The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.

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.