# Accident 19990417003669A: Cessna A150L, Lake Mary, AZ, April 17, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 17, 1999, 19:00 local time - Place: Lake Mary, AZ - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Descent - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.2300° N, 111.7202° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2300&lon=-111.7202&mi=10 - Aircraft: N6085J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6085J-2018-02-15) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna A150L (registry code 2071828, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a150l) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA A150L - Reported engine: CONT O200A - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 15 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA154](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA154) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990417003669A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. (.19) ON APRIL 17, 1999, ABOUT 1900 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA A150L, N6085J, OPERATED AND CO-OWNED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH TREES, AND IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR THE SHORELINE OF LAKE MARY, APPROXIMATELY 13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE PERSONAL FLIGHT, WHICH WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FRON FLAGSTAFF ABOUT 1815. ACCORDING TO CREWMEMBERS FROM THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE VICINITY, THE CRASH OCCURRED ABOUT 6,500 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL, AT COORDINATES OF 35 DEGREES 02.682 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE, BY 111 DEGREES 27.305 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. THE SITE WAS ABOUT 1/8 MILE FROM THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF THE LAKE'S SHOELINE, AND ABOUT 300 FEET HIGHER THAN THE LAKE. WITNESSES ON AND NEAR THE LAKE REPORTED TO COCONINO COUNTY SHERIFF DEPUTIES THAT THEY OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE PERFORMING LOW ALTITUDE MANEUVERS OVER THE LAKE. THE PASSENGER'S WIFE REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD THAT HER HUSBANK, WHO WAS NOT A PILOT, STATED TO HER THAT THEY HAD BEEN "GRAZING THE LAKE" AND COULD NOT PULL UP WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE PASSENGER REPORTED TO THE SAFETY BOARD THAT HE RECALLED THE PILOT HAD ROLLED THE AIRPLANE SEVERAL MINUTES PRIOR TO THE MISHAP. THEREAFTE, THE PILOT FLEW LOW OVER THE LAKE AND HE (THE PASSENGER) WAVED TO PERSONS IN A BOAT. THE PERSONA WAVED BACK AT THE AIRPLANE. THEN, WHILE THE ENGINE'S TACHOMETER WAS DEVOLOPING 2,500 RPM, THE PILOT FLEW TOWARD RAPIDLY RISING TERRAIN. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO OPERATE "FINE," BUT THE AIRPLANE COULD NOT GAIN ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO CLEAR THE TREES ADJACENT TO THE SHORE. THE PILOT BANKED THE AIRPLANE IN AN EFFORT AT TURNING AWAY FROM THE TREES WHEN THE CRASH OCCURRED. WHEN THE PILOT DEPARTED FROM FLAGSTAFF THE FUEL TANKS HAD REPORTEDLY CONTAINED A TOTAL OF ABOUT 12 GALLONS OF FUEL. THE PASSENGER STATED HE WEIGHS ABOUT 225 POUNDS. ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL AVIATIO ADMINISTRATION, ON THE PILOT'S LAST APPLICATION FOR AN AVIATION MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HE INDICATED THAT HIS WEIGHT WAS 222 POUNDS. (.4)THE PILOT AND PASSENGER DEPARTED FLAGSTAFF AND FLEW ABOUT 13 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST UNTIL REACHING LAKE MARY. WHILE OVER THE LAKE, THE PILOT PERFORMED AN ACROBATIC MANEUVER WHICH WAS DESCRIBED BY A BOATER AS BEING A ROLL. THEREAFTER, THE BOATER OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE PASSING OVERHEAD AT AN ALTITUDE LOW ENOUGH TO WAVE AT ITS OCCUPANTS. THE PASSENGER IN THE AIRPLANE REPORTED THAT HE WAVED AT THE BOATERS, AND HE OBSERVED THEM WAVE BACK. THE AIRPLANE, DESCRIBED BY THE PASSENGER AS LOW ENOUGH TO THE LAKE TO HAVE BEEN 'GRAZING' IT, THEN MANEUVERED TOWARD THE SHORELINE AND ADJACENT TREE-COVERED RISING TERRAIN. THE PASSENGER RECALLED THAT ALTHOUGH THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE WAS DEVELOPING 2,500 RPM AND WAS OPERATING 'FINE,' THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO GAIN ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO CLEAR THE TREES AND IMPACTED THEM DURING AN AVOIDANCE TURN. RESPONDING OFFICIALS REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH APPROXIMATE 6,500-FOOT MEAN SEA LEVEL TERRAIN, ABOUT 300 FEET ABOVE THE LAKE AND 1/8-MILE BEYOND THE SHORELINE. THE AIRPLANE WAS AT (OR OVER) ITS MAXIMUM CERTIFICATED GROSS WEIGHT. NO AIRPLANE RECORDS WERE LOCATED. THE CALCULATED DENSITY ALTITUDE EXCEEDED 7,100 FEET. (-23)PIC ^PRIVACY DATA ^ AND PASSENGER ^PRIVACY DATA O^(NON-PILOT) WERE PERFORMING AEROBATIC MANUEVER OVER LAKE MARY ON 04-17-99 AT APPROXIMATELY 1800 HOURS. AFTER PERFORMING A LOW ALTITUDE PASS OVER UPPER LAKE MARY, AND HEADING SOUTH EASTERLY TOWARD ANDERSON MESA,THE PIC INITIATED A CLIMB TO AVOID THE RISING TERRAIN AND TREES. WHEN IT WAS APPARENT TO THE PIC THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS UNABLE TO CLIMB SUFFICIENTLY ENOUGH TO CLEAR THE TREES, HE ^PRIVACY ^ BANKED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE RIGHT. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE TREES AT A LOCATION APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILES SOUTH EAST OF UPPER LAKE MARY. FUEL ON BOARD WAS REPORTED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 1/2 TANKS. COMBINED WEIGHT OF PILOT AND PASSENGER EQUALED 432 POUNDS. ## 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 LAX99LA154](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA154), Apr 18, 1999: Cessna A150L (N6085J), Lake Mary, AZ, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional buzzing and misjudged altitude/clearance with the nearby rising terrain. Contributing factors were the high density, the airplane's high gross weight, and the pilot's improper… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.