# Accident 19980524010629A: Cessna 150L, Sandpoint, ID, May 24, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 24, 1998, 14:45 local time
- Place: Sandpoint, ID
- Airport: Sandpoint Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.3397° N, 116.4490° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.3397&lon=-116.4490&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1479Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1479Q-2001-05-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150L (registry code 2071826, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150L
- Reported engine: CONT O200A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 2,000 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA082](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA082) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980524010629A

## Narrative

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

ENGINE SPUTTERED ON CLIMBOUT MADE STEEP 180 DEGREE BANK TO RETURN. HIT TREES. FUEL DEPLETED. POSSIBLE MEDICAL. (.4)THE FLIGHT TOOK OFF WITH APPROXIMATELY A 30-MINUTE TO 1-HOUR FUEL SUPPLY.  AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT/FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND DUAL STUDENT (ON HER FIRST INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT) PRACTICED AIRWORK FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES, THEN RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT FOR TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS.  THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, WHO HELD AN FAA MEDICAL CERTIFICATE VALID FOR THIRD-CLASS PRIVILEGES AT THE TIME, REPORTED THAT ON THE THIRD TOUCH-AND-GO PATTERN, WHILE DOWNWIND, HE LOST CONSCIOUSNESS.  THE DUAL STUDENT STATED THAT WHILE THE INSTRUCTOR (HER FATHER) WAS PILOTING AND SPEAKING TO HER, THE AIRCRAFT SUDDENLY STARTED HEADING FOR TREES, AND THAT SHE THEN SHOUTED, 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!', BUT THAT THE INSTRUCTOR DID NOT RESPOND.  A WITNESS REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE SPUTTERED AND STALLED AS THE AIRPLANE WENT INTO A STEEP LEFT BANK, AND THAT IT THEN CRASHED INTO THE TREES.  FAA ON-SCENE INVESTIGATORS FOUND A VERY SMALL QUANTITY OF FUEL ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT, AND THE AIRCRAFT'S PROPELLER EXHIBITED NO EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT ENGINE POWER AT IMPACT.  RECOR                                       RDS OF THE PILOT'S TREATMENT AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT CONTAINED DISCHARGE DIAGNOSES OF 'SYNCOPE PRIOR TO ACCIDENT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ' AND 'ATRIAL FIBRILLATION/JUCTIONAL TACHYCARDI.'  THE PILOT/INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT NO MECHANICAL CAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT.                                                 (-23)AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SANDPOINT AIRPOINT (SZT) AFTER MAKING TOUCH AND GO LANDING.  AFTER DEPARTURE, WITNESSES REPORTED THAT ENGINE SPUTTERED, AND AIRCRAFT ENTERED STEEP LEFT BANK.  AIRCRAFT COMPLETED 180 DEGREE TURN, AND IMPACTED TREES IN LEFT BANK.  ALTHOUGH LEFT FUEL TANK WAS COMPROMISED DURING LANDING, INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT ACCIDENT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^           .  ADDITIONAL FACTOR OF PILOT MEDICAL INCAPACITATION ALSO POSSIBLE.

## 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 SEA98LA082](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA082), May 24, 1998: Cessna 150L (N1479Q), Sandpoint, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: Loss of consciousness by the pilot-in-command/flight instructor, resulting in loss of aircraft control and subsequent collision with terrain.

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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