CEN12LA314

Factual narrative

On May 21, 2012, at 1850 central daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6102Q, impacted trees, power line(s), and the ground following an aborted landing at Ardmore Downtown Executive Airport (1F0), Ardmore, Oklahoma, after the student pilot realized he touched down at the wrong airport. The student pilot was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The airplane was registered to and operated by US Aviation Group LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on a visual flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from Denton Municipal Airport, Denton, Texas, about 1720 and was destined to Ardmore Municipal Airport,(ADM), Ardmore, Oklahoma. The student pilot received VFR flight following services during his solo flight to ADM, which was about 10.7 nautical miles northeast of 1F0. The student pilot stated that at his last planned checkpoint prior to ADM, Fort Worth Center instructed him to contact ADM Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and that ADM was at his 12 O'clock position and 10 miles. He said that when he contacted ADM ATCT, he told ADM ATCT that he was 10 miles from ADM, but ADM said that he was 1 mile north of the airport, which confused him. He said that he "quickly" looked around and found "ADM downtown airport" 1 mile south of his position. ADM ATCT instructed him to report a 1-mile final for runway 35. He then turned and reported that he was on final after which he was cleared and acknowledged that he was cleared for the option for runway 35. He said that he was still "very confused that he was on the right runway" so he flew the approach at a higher than normal, which did not allow him to land the airplane about 1,000 feet down runway 35. He stated the he chose to go-around and the airplane was very low and the airspeed was too low. About 5 seconds after the application of full power for the go-around, the airspeed did not increase "very well" and it did not increase above 70 knots. He said that there were houses to the right and and trees ahead. The airplane impacted the trees while he was attempting to climb the airplane. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot attempted a landing on runway 35 (5,000 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) at 1F0 but aborted the landing. The pilot did not retract the flaps, which were extended 30 degrees during the aborted landing and subsequent climb. The airplane impacted trees at the departure end of runway 35. Due to the airplane's low airspeed, the airplane slid down the trees on impact and then stuck power line(s). The inspector stated that the pilot was not fluent with english and it was difficult to understand his communications with air traffic control. The student pilot's log showed that he had flown to ADM on May 4, May 9, and May 18, 2012. The flights on May 4 and May 9 were with a flight instructor, and the flight on May 18 was a solo flight. The student pilot landed at the wrong airport during a solo flight. He aborted the landing and initiated a climb; however, he left the flaps fully extended. Because of the drag due to the flap extension, the airplane could not climb sufficiently to avoid trees at the departure end of the runway and impacted the trees. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Configuration-Incorrect use/operation - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Climb rate-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Student pilot - C