Cessna 150J N151GW

Summary

On 16 February 2025 at about 20:15 local time, a Cessna 150J registered N151GW was involved in an accident near Minersville, Utah, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 February 2025 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Minersville, Utah, United States

Coordinates

38.2200, -112.9900

Aircraft

Cessna 150J

Registration

N151GW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cedar City → Fairfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA096

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the propeller blade due to fatigue that originated from an impact pit sustained at an unknown time. Contributing to the accident was the failure of unknown maintenance personnel to detect and repair the impact pit before painting the propeller, which obscured the damage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, who had recently purchased the airplane, he inspected the airplane’s propeller for damage before departing on a multi-leg cross country flight. During the second leg of the flight, one of the propeller blades separated about 17 inches from the hub. The pilot shut down the engine and was able to perform a forced landing on a rural road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its airframe and engine mount from excessive vibrations caused by the propeller blade separation. The maintenance records for the airplane and propeller were incomplete, and the propeller’s maintenance and operational history could not be determined. Examination of the propeller revealed fracture features consistent with a fatigue crack that initiated from an impact pit on the blade face. The impact pit was one of several areas of damage consistent with debris impacts that were subsequently painted over and obscured with black paint. Measurement of the pit at the origin of the fatigue crack revealed it was within tolerance for a field repair; however, there was no indication any repair was performed. There was insufficient information to determine when the damage occurred or how long the fatigue crack had been present.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.