Ohio State University Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Columbus, Ohio 43201
Friday, February 28, 2003 11:21 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A flight instructor and student pilot had been performing touch and go landings on runway 27R, which was 2,994 feet long and 100 feet wide. During the accident approach, the student had set 20 degrees of flaps and established 62 knots of indicated airspeed. The CFI observed the airplane descend below the "glidepath," and instructed the student pilot to add power. After a few seconds, the student added about 50 rpms of power, and the CFI told the student to add more power. When the student didn't respond, the CFI attempted to add power himself; however, the student's hand remained over the throttle, and he was unable to add power. The CFI then started to flare the airplane for landing. The airplane touched down about 20 feet prior to the runway in snow, where it pitched forward on its nose, and the nose gear collapsed. The winds at the airport were reported to be calm.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The student pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude and the instructor's delayed remedial action,

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/28/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1121
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Columbus
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 43201
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400447N
Event Location Longitude 0830423W
Event Location Airport OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OSU
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 905
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1125 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID OSU
Elevation of weather observation facility 905
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16765
NTSB Notification Source FAA Great Lake Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 28 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1150
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2004 11:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbus

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N170SU
NTSB Number NYC03LA059
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15283248
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 17 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 62
Airframe Hours 11544
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ohio State University
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2160 W. Case Rd., Hangar 5
Aircraft Owner City Columbus
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43235
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OSU
Departure City Columbus
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1050
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code OSU
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 11 2003 2:41PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27R
Runway Length 2994
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --