# Accident 20240515010919A: Cessna 150L, Godley, TX, May 15, 2024 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 15, 2024, 20:40 local time - Place: Godley, TX - Airport: Cleburne Regional - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.3897° N, 97.5462° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.3897&lon=-97.5462&mi=10 - Aircraft: N1701Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1701Q-2025-01-29) (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 - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Student - Pilot flight hours: 63 total, 4 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN24FA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA188) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240515010919A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. LATE IN THE DAY, WITH VFR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND AFTER FUELING THE AIRCRAFT WITH APROXIMATELY 11.5 GALLONS OF 100LL AVGAS, THE SOLO STUDENT PILOT WAS PRACTICING PRE-PRIVATE PILOT CHECKRIDE PREPARATION MANEUVERS, INCLUDING A DEPARTURE (TAKEOFF AT 1948 CST) FOLLOWED BY A TOUCH-AND-GO, BOTH AT THE CLEBURNE REGIONAL AIRPORT, AND THEN PRACTICING ADDITIONAL AIRWORK MANEUVERS IN THE LOCAL FLYING AREA TO THE NORTHWEST OF THIS AIRPORT OF DEPARTURE. AFTER COMPLETING MULTIPLE TURNS, SLOW FLIGHT, CLMBS, DECENTS AND IMMINENT STALLS FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES, THE ADSB DATA INDICATES HE WAS APARENTLY RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT OF DEPARTURE SHORTLY BEFORE DARKNESS, HEADING ESE. AT A POINT ABOUT 6 NM TO THE WNW OF THE AIRPORT, THE AVAILABLE ADSB DATA INDICATES THAT THE AIRCRAFT SLOWED AND BEGAN A 400 TO 500 FT/MIN CLIMB TO ABOUT 1400 FT AGL, WITH GROUNDSPEED SLOWING TO MINIMAL (13 KTS), THEN ABRUPTLY TURNING TIGHTLY LEFT WITH ALTITUDE SUDDENLY DECREASING AT AN EXTREMELY RAPID RATE (6,000 TO 10,000 FT/MIN) IN AN EXTREMELY TIGHT LEFT ROTATION. THE FINAL ADSB DATAPOINT RECORDED AT 2039:44 CDT INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT AT 75 FT AGL DECENDING AT 7,500 FT/MIN WITH MINIMAL GROUND TRACK. THE PUBLISHED ENDING OF CIVIL TWILIGHT FOR THIS LOCATION AND DATE WAS 2048 CDT. THE PARTIALLY BURNT AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS FOUND IN AN OPEN GRASSY FIELD GENERALLY POINTING TO THE SOUTHEAST, IN A NEARLY FLAT ATTITUDE WITH THE ENGINE AND EMPENAGE SHIFTED NOTICEABLY TO THE RIGHT OF CENTERLINE OF THE WING CENTER SECTION, WITH ONE PROPELLER BLADE IMBEDDED DEEP IN THE EARTH AND THE OTHER VISIBLE AND COMPLETELY UNDAMAGED. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND COMPLETE EXCEPT FOR THE CABIN / COCKPIT / INSTRUMENT PANNEL AND ENGINE ACCESSORIES AREAS WHICH HAD BEEN MOSTLY CONSUMED BY POST IMPACT FIRE EXCEPT FOR THEIR STEEL COMPONENTS. THERE WERE NO GROUND SCARS EXCEPT FOR IMMEDIATELY UNDER THE WRECKAGE, INDICATING A NEARLY VERTICAL IMPACT. ALL FLIGHT AND ENGINE CONTROLS WERE PRESENT AND CONNECTED TO THEIR COCKPIT CONTROLS. THE FLAPS WERE FOUND IN THE FULL DOWN POSITION. THE PROP BLADE THAT HAD IMBEDDED IN THE EARTH SHOWED LEADING EDGE DAMAGES AND CHORDWISE GOUGES. TWO WITNESSES WHO WERE LOCATED APROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE TO THE NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE IN THEIR VEHICLE STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD CAUGHT THEIR ATTENTION DUE TO ITS LOWNESS AND LIGHTS BEING VISIBLE. THEY STATED THAT IT APPEARED TO BE HOVERING, THEN SUDDENLY DROPPED AND TURNED SHARPLY LEFT, ROTATING 6 TO 8 TIMES IN A NEARLY VERTICAL SPIRALING RAPID DECENT BEFORE DROPPING BEHIND THE LOW TREELINE, WHERE SMOKE AND FIRE COULD BE SEEN IMMEDIATELY RISING ABOVE THE LOCATION. THEY IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED 911 AND REPORTED THE ACCIDENT. ALL AIRCRAFT INSPECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE WERE DETERMINED TO BE CURRENT AND THE STUDENT PILOT WAS PROPERLY ENDORSED AND QUALIFIED TO CONDUCT THIS SOLO FLIGHT. AVAILABLE RENTAL RECORDS INDICATED HE LAST FLEW THIS C-150 ON JANUARY 21, 2024 AND HIS MOST RECENT FLIGHT WAS MAY 6, 2024 IN A C-172 . ## 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 CEN24FA188](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA188), May 16, 2024: Cessna 150L (N1701Q), Godley, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The student pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while practicing a power-on stall, which resulted in an inadvertent spin at an altitude from which he was unable to recover. ## Other reports on N1701Q (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20180826024339A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180826024339A), Aug 26, 2018: Cessna 150L (N1701Q), Eldorado, TX, Substantial damage. While enroute lvj to pec, pilot ran out of fuel 15 west of Eldorado Texas and landed on an access road striking a 10 inch oil pipe laid on the surface causing… 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.