# Accident 20010616011769A: Cessna 150L, Manteo, NC, June 16, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 16, 2001, 13:39 local time - Place: Manteo, NC - Airport: Dare County Regional Airport - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.9203° N, 75.6972° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9203&lon=-75.6972&mi=10 - Aircraft: N11912, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N11912-2003-04-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 150L (registry code 2071826, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150L - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA01FA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01FA165) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010616011769A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)AT APPROXIMATELY 1339 EASTERN, ON JUNE 16, 2001, A CESSNA 150 (N11912) WAS ENGAGED IN A BANNER TOW OPERATION. AFTER RELEASING THE BANNER IN THE SOD AREA ADJACENT TO RUNWAY 23 AT DARE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT, THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED CLIMBING AT A STEEP ANGLE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN OBSERVED DESCENDING AT A STEEP ANGLE. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED A PILE OF CONCRETE DEBRIS RESULTING IN TOTAL LOSS OF THE AIRCRAFT AS WELL AS A POST CRASH FIRE. THE PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. (.19)ON JUNE 16, 2001, AT ABOUT 1339 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 150L, N11912, REGISTERED TO KITTY HAWK AERO TOURS, AS A 14 CFR PART 91 BANNER TOW FLIGHT, CRASHED DURING A BANNER DROP OFF AT THE DARE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT, MANTEO, NORTH CAROLINA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY POSTCRASH FIRE AND THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM DARE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT ABOUT 39 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. TWO EMPLOYEES OF DARE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT (AIR OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN AND OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR), STATED THEY WERE IN THE VICINITY OF THE OPERATIONS AREA AT THE AIRPORT, WHICH OVERLOOKS THE APPROACH AND DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 23/05. THE AIR OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN HEARD THE AIRPLANE APPROACHING. BOTH EMPLOYEES LOOKED OUTSIDE AND OBSERVED THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE RELEASING HIS BANNER IN THE SOD AREA ADJACENT TO RUNWAY 23. THE AIR OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN HEARD AN INCREASE IN ENGINE POWER, AND BOTH EMPLOYEES OBSERVED THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE TO PITCH UP GREATER THAN 45 DEGREES. THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW DUE TO OBSTRUCTIONS. THE AIR OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR LOOKED AWAY TO TAKE CARE OF SOME BUSINESS. THE AIR OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN SAW THE AIRPLANE DESCENDING IN A NOSE-DOWN ATTITUDE GREATER THAN 45 DEGREES. BOTH OF THE EMPLOYEES HEARD THE PILOT STATE ON THE UNICOM RADIO FREQUENCY, "OH MY GOD, I'M DEAD, I'M DEAD." THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN FOLLOWED BY AN EXPLOSION AND FLAMES. TWO OTHER WITNESSES OBSERVED THE PILOT DROP HIS BANNER IN THE SOD AREA NEXT TO RUNWAY 23. THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP STEEPLY ESTIMATED GREATER THAN 45 DEGREES. THE AIRPLANE STALLED, THE LEFT WING DROPPED, THE AIRPLANE ROLLED TO THE LEFT IN A NOSE-DOWN ATTITUDE, COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN AND EXPLODED. ## 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 MIA01FA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01FA165), Jun 16, 2001: Cessna 150L (N11912), Manteo, NC, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering after releasing a banner resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. ## Other reports on N11912 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19920809029959A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19920809029959A), Aug 9, 1992: Cessna 150L (N11912), Manteo, NC, Substantial damage. Missed banner pickup. Stabilizer snagged line and poles on go around. Landed grass due traffic. Pole dug in ground. 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.