Cessna 150M N704ZY

Summary

On 2 August 1998 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 150M registered N704ZY, operated by Charis Air Corporation, was involved in an accident near Worthington, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 1998 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Worthington, Massachusetts, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 150M

Registration

N704ZY

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Charis Air Corporation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Westfield → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98FA161

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed due to diverted attention.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was operating on a local aerial photography flight with a photographer. Witnesses observed the airplane make two circles over the area, with the second pass lower than the first pass. One witness heard the engine sputter followed by an impact, while two other witnesses said the engine was running until impact. Onsite investigation revealed the airplane had slid down a tree and impacted on its left side. The throttle and mixture were found full forward with the carburetor heat knob partially extended. Some of the spark plugs were covered with soot. Fuel was found in the wing tanks, the fuel line leading to the carburetor, and the inside the carburetor. Pieces of cut wood more than 4 inches across was found near the base of the tree that the airplane slid down. The airplane was removed and the engine ran with no hesitation observed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.