ATL94LA064

Factual narrative

On March 15, 1994, at 1345 central standard time, a Cessna 152, N95010, collided with a utility pole and a tree during an attempted takeoff from the sod runway at Lebanon Municipal Airport, Lebanon, Tennessee. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The instructional flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91, with no flight plan filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the certified flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The instructional flight departed Smyrna, Tennessee, at 1315 hours. According to the flight instructor, his intentions were to prepare the student for off field landing and takeoff operations. During the approach to Lebanon, Tennessee, the flight instructor requested the sod runway for the approach and landing. After landing on runway 04, the pilot back taxied for a short field takeoff. As the airplane rolled through the first third of the runway the engine would not produce full power, and the instructor instructed the student to "abort" the takeoff. After he told the student for the third time to "abort", the flight instructor realized that the student was "locked on the controls and was staring out ahead of the airplane and not listening to me". With seconds left to correct the situation, the instructor asked the student to release the controls. After a few seconds the student released the controls as the airplane approached a stall. The instructor lowered the nose of the airplane and attempted to avoid a collision with the trees. As the instructor maneuvered the airplane, the right wing struck a utility pole and the empennage struck a tree. An examination of the engine revealed that one of the cylinders had a build up of carbon on the spark plugs and the cylinder. A hundred hour inspection was completed three hours before the accident. THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT WERE CONDUCTING ROUTINE FLIGHT TRAINING FROM A SOD AIRSTRIP. DURING TAKEOFF, THE ENGINE FAILED TO DEVELOP FULL POWER. WHEN THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REALIZED THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT PRODUCING FULL POWER, HE INSTRUCTED THE STUDENT TO ABORT. THE STUDENT CONTINUED THE TAKEOFF, AND WOULD NOT RELINQUISH THE FLIGHT CONTROLS. THE TAKEOFF CONTINUED UNTIL THE AIRPLANE BECAME AIRBORNE, AND COLLIDED WITH A UTILITY POLE AND A TREE. THE EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE DISCLOSED DEPOSITS OF CARBON IN ONE CYLINDER AND ON THE SPARK PLUG FOR THAT CYLINDER. A HUNDRED HOUR AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED THREE HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12