Cessna 150L N16235

Summary

On 4 August 2008 at about 04:00 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N16235, operated by Mitchell S. Pratt, was involved in an accident near Watertown, South Dakota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 August 2008 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Watertown, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.9139, -97.1547

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N16235

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mitchell S. Pratt

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mitchell → Watertown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI08CA235

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain during cruise. Contributing to the accident was the night, the haze, and the tall vegetation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the cross country night flight he began losing altitude while listening to the automated weather service broadcast for the destination airport. He did not notice the altitude loss. The pilot decided to go to an alternate airport, turned for the alternate, and descended during the turn. At that point he noticed the altitude loss, pulled back on the yoke, and impacted a cornfield. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane during the accident flight. The pilot's safety recommendation was "haze is deceptive."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.