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| Date: | Thursday 26 May 2022 |
| Time: | 14:56 |
| Type: |  Cessna 152 |
| Owner/operator: | Spring City Aviation East LLC |
| Registration: | N4978B |
| MSN: | 15283736 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9289 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Wauwatosa, WI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Milwaukee-Lawrence J Timmerman Airport, WI (KMWC) |
| Milwaukee-Lawrence J Timmerman Airport, WI (KMWC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 26, 2022, about 1456 central daylight time, a Cessna 152, N4978B, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The student pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
The student pilot was performing a solo flight and practicing takeoffs and landings. A witness reported, and ADS-B data confirmed, that the student pilot performed a touch-and-go. According to the witness, the airplane touched down long and then took off again. When the airplane lifted off the ground, the flaps remained down. The airplane climbed just above tree height in a nose-high attitude. Shortly thereafter, the left wing dropped, and the airplane descended “straight down.”
During the climb, the student pilot reported to air traffic control (ATC) that he had an engine failure. Subsequently, he reported that he did not have his flaps up.
A performance study was conducted to estimate the drag characteristics of the airplane and the engine power developed during the initial takeoff, subsequent landing, and accident takeoff. Before telling ATC that the flaps were not up, the pilot reported an engine failure; however, according to the study, the energy state of the airplane and the computed power required during the accident climb at flaps 30° are inconsistent with a loss of power.
Instead, performance calculations indicate that the engine was producing power consistent with the power levels achieved during the previous (initial) takeoff and climb, which was performed with the flaps up. The airplane’s lift coefficient, computed using ADS-B data and wind speeds consistent with the reported weather, indicate that the flaps 30° maximum lift coefficient was reached about 13 seconds after the pilot reported an engine failure, and nearly coincident with the time that the pilot reported that the flaps were not up. The increase of the airplane’s lift coefficient to the maximum lift, and the rapid drop in pitch angle, angle of attack, and flight path angle that followed, are consistent with an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control.
Physical examination of the airframe, engine, and propeller did not reveal any preimpact failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in a stall from which the student pilot could not recover.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/small-plane-crashes-near-103rd-and-courtland-in-wauwatosa
https://www.fox6now.com/news/wauwatosa-plane-crash-aircraft-neighborhood
https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105138/pdf
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=4978B
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N4978B/history/20220526/1951Z/KMWC/KMWC
https://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/000/902/902640.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-May-2022 00:47 | Geno | Added |
| 27-May-2022 01:48 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-May-2022 09:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Phase, Narrative] |
| 28-May-2022 09:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 29-May-2022 05:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 29-May-2022 08:11 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total fatalities, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 06-Jun-2022 06:36 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 14-Jun-2022 21:49 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category] |
| 31-May-2024 21:17 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
| 31-May-2024 21:18 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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