# Accident 20180717011439A: Cessna 152, Fort Rice, ND, July 17, 2018 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 17, 2018, 14:23 local time - Place: Fort Rice, ND - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 46.5283° N, 100.5672° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.5283&lon=-100.5672&mi=10 - Aircraft: N24515, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N24515-2018-11-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 152 (registry code 2071835, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 152 - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 400 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN18FA277](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18FA277) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180717011439A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON JULY 17, 2018, ABOUT 1423 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 152 II AIRPLANE, N24515, IMPACTED THE MISSOURI RIVER WHILE MANEUVERING ABOUT ONE MILE EAST OF FORT RICE, NORTH DAKOTA. THE LEFT SEAT COMMERCIAL PILOT AND SOLE OCCUPANT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO ARBACH ENTERPRISES, INC., WATERTOWN, SOUTH DAKOTA AND WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 91 AS A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES COMMERCIAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE MANDAN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (Y19), MANDAN, NORTH DAKOTA ABOUT 1330. ARBACH ENTERPRISES, INC. LEASED THE AIRPLANE TO MORNING STAR AIR, LLC, WATERTOWN, ON A PER TACHOMETER HOUR BASIS TO CONDUCT 14 CFR PART 91 COMMERCIAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF FARMS AND RANCHES. MORNING STAR AIR, LLC LEASED THE AIRPLANE AND CONTRACTED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THE PILOT ON A PER PHOTOGRAPH BASIS. THE PILOT WAS COMPENSATED PER PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN. MORNING STAR AIR, LLC WORKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH MORNING STAR PHOTOGRAPHY, INC., WATERTOWN TO SELL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE FARMS AND RANCHES TO THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNER. PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, ARBACH ENTERPRISES, INC. CONSISTED OF FIVE HIGH-WING SINGLE ENGINE AIRPLANES ALONG WITH SEVERAL PILOTS THAT CONTRACTED WITH THE COMPANY FOR COMMERCIAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OPERATIONS. THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS FOR THE PILOT TO CONDUCT AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF FARMS AND RANCHES IN MORTON COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA. THE PILOT CONDUCTED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OPERATIONS USING A HANDHELD CANON EOS 6D DIGITAL CAMERA WITH A CANON ULTRASONIC EF LENS (70-200 MILLIMETER FOCAL LENGTH WITH A 1:2.8 MAXIMUM APERTURE), WITH THE LEFT WINDOW OF THE HIGH-WING AIRPLANE OPENED WHILE REFERENCING A KNEEBOARD-BASED COUNTY MAP OF THE TARGET AREAS. EACH SQUARE ON THE MAP IS EQUIVALENT TO ONE MILE. ON JULY 16, THE PILOT LANDED AT Y19 AFTER CONDUCTING AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OPERATIONS AND TO REFUEL THE AIRPLANE. A MECHANIC WHO IS BASED OUT OF Y19, PROVIDED THE PILOT A RIDE TO HIS HOTEL IN MANDAN. THE MECHANIC AGREED TO PICK UP THE PILOT ON THE MORNING OF JULY 17, TO TRANSPORT HIM TO THE AIRPORT FOR HIS FLIGHT ACTIVITIES THAT DAY. THE MECHANIC SENT THE PILOT A TEXT MESSAGE VIA CELLULAR PHONE ON JULY 17, ABOUT 0705 INQUIRING IF HE WAS READY AND THE PILOT WAS PICKED UP ABOUT 0720. THE PILOT CONDUCTED THE PREFLIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE AND REPORTED TO THE MECHANIC THAT PAGE 2 OF 4 CEN18FA277 THIS IS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. ANY ERRORS IN THIS REPORT WILL BE CORRECTED WHEN THE FINAL REPORT HAS BEEN COMPLETED. HE WOULD RETURN AROUND LUNCH TIME AND DEPARTED FROM THE AIRPORT ABOUT 0845. ABOUT 1325, THE MECHANIC AND PILOT REFUELED THE AIRPLANE WITH ABOUT 19.5 GALLONS OF FUEL. THE PILOT DEPARTED FOR THE FLIGHT ABOUT 1330. ABOUT 1442, THE MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT A WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE LOCATED IN THE MISSOURI RIVER. THE AIRPLANE WAS DISCOVERED NOSE DOWN AT A 65 DEGREE ANGLE, IN ABOUT FIVE FEET OF WATER, AND ABOUT 75 FEET TO THE WEST OF A NORTHWEST TO SOUTHWEST RUNNING SANDBAR LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER. THE FRONT OF THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND ORIENTED ABOUT 190 DEGREES. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE SANDBAR AREA WAS FLOODED. THE MISSOURI RIVER, A FRESHWATER RIVER THAT FLOWS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH IN NORTH DAKOTA, ORIGINATES IN MONTANA AND THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER IS LOCATED IN MISSOURI JOINING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PHOTOGRAPH 1 - VIEW OF THE AIRPLANE IN THE MISSOURI RIVER (COURTESY OF THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE). ON JULY 18, THE AIRPLANE WAS RECOVERED FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER AND TRANSPORTED TO A SECURE HANGAR AT Y19. ON JULY 19, THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB) INVESTIGATOR-INCHARGE, A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTOR FROM THE FARGO FLIGHT S ## 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 CEN18FA277](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN18FA277), Jul 17, 2018: Cessna 152 (N24515), Fort Rice, ND, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat in conditions that were conducive to serious carburetor icing, which resulted in a loss of engine power, an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of… ## Other reports on N24515 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19800303029779I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800303029779I), Mar 3, 1980: Cessna 152 (N24515), Superior, WI, Minor damage. Student practicing emergency landing during solo flight. Caught a wire on climb out. 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.