# Accident 19970924037999A: Cessna 150G, Forest, VA, September 24, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 24, 1997, 18:30 local time
- Place: Forest, VA
- Airport: New London Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.3693° N, 79.2695° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.3693&lon=-79.2695&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4748X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4748X-1997-12-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150G (registry code 2071816, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150G
- Reported engine: CONT O200A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 21 total, 21 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC97LA192](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA192) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970924037999A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4) ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1997, AT 1830 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 150G, N4748X, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING TO THE NEW LONDON AIRPORT (W90), FOREST VIRGINIA.  THE STUDENT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE LOCAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED FROM W90, AT 1800.  NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91.  IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE STUDENT PILOT (SP) REPORTED HE WAS FLYING AN EXTENDED DOWNWIND LEG TO LAND ON RUNWAY 16, AT W90.  HE SAID HE PERFORMED HIS PRE-LANDING CHECK AND REDUCED POWER TO 1,500 RPM FOR THE APPROCACH.  THE INITIAL APPROACH ANGLE WAS STEEP, SO HE "CUT" ENGINE POWER AND SLIPPED THE AIRPLANE TO INCREASE HIS RATE OF DESCENT.  WHEN HE TURNED FINAL, HIS APPROACH ANGLE WAS TOO SHALLOW.  HE APPLIED POWER AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE;  THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN AT IDLE POWER.  THE SP STATED THE AIRPLANE WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET ON FINAL APPROACH WHEN THE PROPELLER STOPPED TURNING.  HE ATTEMPTED TO MANEUVER THROUGH AN AREA OF LOW OBSTACLES, WHICH INCLUDED 5 TO 6 FOOT HIGH TREE STUMPS, AND CROSS A ROAD TO A GRASS AREA ON THE AIRPORT.  THE PILOT STATED:  "APPROXIMATELY10 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, I THOUGHT I'D MAKE THE GRASS.  I STARTED MY FLARE AND I THINK I MIGHT HAVE HIT A STUMP.  IT JERKED THE WHOLE AIRPLANE NOSE DOWN.  I HIT ALL THREE GEAR ON THE ROAD, BUT HIT SO HARD, THE NOSE GEAR BROKE OFF.  THE AIRPLANE SLID ACROSS THE ROAD, STRUCK THE DITCH, AND NOSED OVER."  A WITNESS REPORTED IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW THAT HE WENT TO THE AIRPLANE TO RENDER ASSISTANCE.  HE ALSO SAID, "THE AIRPLANE CLIPPED OFF TWO DEAD TREES AND A BARBED WIRE FENCE...I GOT IN THE AIRPLANE AND THE THROTTLE WAS IN, THE MIXTURE WAS OUT, AND THE CARBURETOR HEAT WAS OFF."  IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE AIRPLANE OWNER SAID HE RECOVERED THE AIRPLANE TO A HANGER AND ATTEMPTED TO START THE ENGINE.  HE STATED, "I STARTED THE AIRPLANE AND IT RAN LIKE A TOP.  PERFECT."  THE STUDENT PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD STARTED FLYING LESSONS ON TWO OCCASIONS BEGINNING IN 1989, ACCRUED APPROXIMATELY 10 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME, AND THEN STOPPED.  HE BEGAN LESSONS AGAIN IN AUGUST, 1997, AND ACCRUED APPROXIMATELY 8 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC97LA192](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA192), Sep 24, 1997: Cessna 150G (N4748X), Forest, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's movement of the mixture control to the idle cut-off position, during an approach to land, which resulted in a loss of engine power and a forced landing before reaching the runway.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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