# Accident 20020717016909A: Cessna 150G, Tuscaloosa, AL, July 17, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 2002, 08:30 local time
- Place: Tuscaloosa, AL
- Airport: Tuscaloosa Municipal
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.0497° N, 87.4225° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.0497&lon=-87.4225&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3400J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3400J-2003-04-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150G (registry code 2071816, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150G
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02FA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA143) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020717016909A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JULY 17, 2002, AT 0830 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 150G, N3400J, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY PEARSON AVIATION LLC, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR DUNCANVILLE, ALABAMA. THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND THE STUDENT PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FAIRHOPE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IN FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, AT 0630. THE FLIGHT WAS EN ROUTE TO TUSCALOOSA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IN TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND STATED HE SAW THE AIRPLANE FLYING IN A NORMAL FLIGHT PATH, THEN IT PITCHED NOSE-UP, THE LEFT WING DROPPED, AND THE AIRPLANE FELL STRAIGHT DOWN BEHIND A STAND OF TREES. INITIAL EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND IN AN AREA OF HIGH VEGETATION SURROUNDED BY WOODS 14 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHEAST OF TUSCALOOSA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE WRECKAGE RESTED IN AN APPROXIMATE 45-DEGREE NOSE-DOWN ATTITUDE ON A HEADING OF 250 DEGREES. THE PROPELLER AND COWLING WERE CRUSHED REARWARD TOWARD THE CABIN, AND BOTH WINGS DISPLAYED UNIFORM CRUSH DAMAGE FROM THE LEADING EDGE REARWARD. FUEL ODOR AND BROWNING OF VEGETATION WAS PRESENT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. (-23) ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT MADE A LOW PASSED ALONG HIGHWAY 82, 16 MILES EAST OF TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA WITH A STEEP PULL-UP TURNING MANEUVER TO CORRECT FOR COURSE DEVIATION. PILOT LOST CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT WHILE MANEUVERING, RESULTING IN A STALL/SPIN AT APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET AGL. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED VERTICALLY APPROXIMATELY 55 DEGREES, RESULTING IN TWO FATAL INJURIES TO THE PILOT AND ONE STUDENT.

## 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 ATL02FA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA143), Jul 17, 2002: Cessna 150G (N3400J), Duncanville, AL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed , which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent collision with the ground. A contributing factor was low level flight.

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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