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ATL92LA044

1992-02-13 · MACON, Georgia, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MCN

Current FAA registration · N89071

Make / Model
CESSNA 152
Year of manufacture
1978 · 14 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES (115 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19781007
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AC48BB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISION BY THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT TO ATTEMPT A PRECAUTIONARY OFF AIRPORT LANDING WHEN NO EMERGENCY EXISTED. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE FOG AND LOW CEILINGS IN THE AREA AT THE TIME.

Factual narrative

THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT STATED THAT AFTER COMPLETING INSTRUMENT TRAINING IN THE LOCAL AREA, HE ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO HIS DEPARTURE AIRPORT. THE APPROACH WAS UNSUCCESSFUL DUE TO THE LOW CEILINGS AND FOG IN THE AREA. HE ELECTED TO PROCEED TO HIS ALTERNATE AIRPORT AND WAS EXECUTING AN APPROACH INTO THE AIRPORT, WHEN HE OBSERVED A FIELD BELOW THE AIRCRAFT. HE ELECTED TO ATTEMPT A LANDING IN THE FIELD BECAUSE HE DID NOT BELIEVE THE APPROACH INTO THE ALTERNATE AIRPORT WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL DUE TO THE LOW CEILINGS AND FOG. WHEN ASKED BY THE FAA INSPECTOR WHY HE ATTEMPTED THE OFF AIRPORT LANDING WHEN NO EMERGENCY EXISTED, THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT REPLIED 'HE DID NOT KNOW'. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_ATL92LA044.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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