Cessna 150L N1701Q

Summary

On 16 May 2024 at about 01:39 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N1701Q was involved in an accident near Godley, Texas, 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

16 May 2024 at 01:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Godley, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.3897, -97.5462

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N1701Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cleburn → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24FA188

1 person died.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while practicing a power-on stall, which resulted in an inadvertent spin at an altitude from which he was unable to recover.

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 solo flight. Review of flight track data revealed that, during the final 6.5 minutes of the flight, the airplane completed several large deceleration-and-acceleration cycles between 1,000 and 1,700 ft above ground level (agl). During each of these cycles, the airplane’s airspeed decreased below aerodynamic stall speed before it increased again. The airspeed and altitude profiles during these maneuvers were consistent with the pilot practicing aerodynamic stalls. Shortly before the accident, the airplane entered a rapid climb while the airspeed decreased below aerodynamic stall speed, consistent with an intentional power-on stall entry. There was a 6-second interruption in track data coverage after the airplane entered the aerodynamic stall, but when coverage resumed, the airplane was in a rapid descent that continued until the end of recorded data about 8 seconds later. A witness reported seeing the airplane flying at slow speed, almost “hovering” in the air, before it suddenly entered a spiraling nosedive. The airplane completed at least 6 to 8 rotations in the descending spiral before it descended out of sight behind a hill. An extensive postimpact fire thermally damaged most of the airplane. A wreckage examination revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have prevented normal airplane operation. The pilot’s autopsy and postmortem toxicology tests did not reveal any evidence of medical incapacitation or impairment. Based on the available information, the pilot likely did not maintain airplane control during the intentional power-on stall, which resulted in an inadvertent spin at an altitude from which he was unable to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.