Cessna 150 N8185F

Summary

On 12 September 2015 at about 15:30 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N8185F was involved in an accident near Atco, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 September 2015 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Atco, New Jersey, United States

Coordinates

39.7775, -74.8583

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N8185F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Berlin → Berlin

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15FA352

1 person died.

The student pilot's improper decision to intentionally maneuver at low altitude while waving to people on the ground, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall.

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 local flight that consisted of traffic pattern work and landings and then several orbits in the area. After completing the orbits, the student flew near a friend's house, where he executed a left, 360° turn while flying at a low altitude despite being counseled against doing so by his flight instructor and the instructor's son, who was also a pilot. The instructor reported that the student had a habit of "making low passes." The student's friend waved to him, and he waved back, and then the friend and another witness noticed the airplane's bank angle increase while the airspeed was slowing. According to GPS data, while the airplane was flying about 58 mph, which is about the stall speed with the airplane at gross weight with the flaps retracted and a bank angle of about 20°, its nose pitched down, consistent with a stall/mush. Witnesses reported hearing the engine rev-up, hesitate briefly, then respond during the uncontrolled descent, but they reported it was "too late." The airplane impacted a wooded area, and its propeller cut some trees, consistent with the engine developing power at the time of impact. Examination of the airplane revealed that the flaps were retracted, and there was no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls for roll, pitch, or yaw. It is likely that the student, while maneuvering and turning the airplane while waving, which would have increased his workload, was unable to appropriately divide and prioritize his attention and allowed the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack near its stall speed at too low of an altitude to recover. Although toxicological evidence indicated that the pilot had used three sedating and/or impairing substances (amitriptyline, tetrahydrocannabinol, and diphenhydramine, the last two of which were at very low levels), the investigation could not determine whether they contributed to the accident or affected the student's aeronautical decision-making.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.