Cessna 150F N8375G

Summary

On 4 November 2012 at about 16:30 local time, a Cessna 150F registered N8375G was involved in an accident near Gothenburg, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 November 2012 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Gothenburg, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Quinn Field (GTE)

Coordinates

40.9256, -100.1464

Aircraft

Cessna 150F

Registration

N8375G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gothenburg → Gothenburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13FA045

1 person died.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed on final approach, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was conducting a solo instructional flight in the airport traffic area at the time of the accident. A pilot entering the traffic pattern at the time that the accident pilot was conducting takeoffs and landings reported that, during the accident pilot’s third landing, the accident airplane was “extremely low,” not more than 200 feet above ground level (agl), on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. He noted that the normal pattern altitude was 800 feet agl. He stated that the accident pilot subsequently landed and took off again and that he observed the accident airplane on initial climb after takeoff and beginning to turn to the crosswind leg, but that he did not observe the remainder of the accident pilot’s flight in the traffic pattern or the accident sequence. There were no other witnesses. The student pilot was approaching for a fourth landing when the accident occurred; the airplane came to rest inverted short of the runway threshold. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation. The damage to the nose of the airplane is consistent with a high-impact angle of about 45 degrees. The high-impact angle and lack of significant ground travel after impact is consistent with a loss of control precipitated by an inadvertent aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.