# Accident 20260104000109A: Cessna 150A, Coolidge, AZ, January 4, 2026

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 4, 2026, 19:08 local time
- Place: Coolidge, AZ
- Airport: Coolidge Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.9360° N, 111.4265° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9360&lon=-111.4265&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7235X, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7235X) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150A (registry code 2071804, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150A
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 7,830 total, 65 in this make and model, 565 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR26LA077](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA077) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260104000109A

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 4, 2026, AT APPROXIMATELY 1808 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, CESSNA 150, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AFTER STRIKING POWER LINES WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 23 AT COOLIDGE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (P08), COOLIDGE, ARIZONA. THE FLIGHT WAS A LOCAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THERE WERE TWO OCCUPANTS ON BOARD: ONE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER. THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED A MINOR INJURY (BROKEN ARM); THE PILOT WAS UNINJURED.

ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE FLIGHT DEPARTED RUNWAY 5 AND PROCEEDED APPROXIMATELY EIGHT MILES SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT, WHERE THE PILOT CONDUCTED SEVERAL TRAINING MANEUVERS, INCLUDING STEEP TURNS, SLOW FLIGHT, AND PRACTICE STALLS. AFTER COMPLETING THE MANEUVERS, THE PILOT RETURNED TO COOLIDGE AIRPORT WITH THE INTENTION OF ENTERING A CROSSWIND FOR A LEFT DOWNWIND TO RUNWAY 5.

UPON RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT AREA, THE PILOT OBSERVED THREE AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 23. THE PILOT REPORTED JOINING A FIVE-MILE FINAL APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 23 AND STATED THAT VISIBILITY WAS DEGRADED DUE TO SUN GLARE. ON SHORT FINAL, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE RUNWAY ENVIRONMENT BECAME VISIBLE AND THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOWER THAN EXPECTED. THE PILOT ADDED ENGINE POWER IN AN ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE LOW APPROACH AND OBSERVED AN ORANGE MARKER BALL; HOWEVER, THE PILOT DID NOT SEE THE ASSOCIATED POWER LINES. PILOT REPORT HE DID NOT SEE THE PAPI LIGHTS, BUT THE PAPI WAS CONFIRMED TO BE WORKING CORRECTLY BY THE AIRPORT MANAGER.

THE AIRCRAFT SUBSEQUENTLY STRUCK THE POWER LINES, RESULTING IN A SUDDEN YAW TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT APPLIED LEFT RUDDER AND WAS ABLE TO MOMENTARILY REALIGN THE AIRCRAFT, BUT REPORTED INSUFFICIENT AIRSPEED AND AN UNCONTROLLABLE DESCENT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED TERRAIN, CARTWHEELED THROUGH BRUSH AND TREES, AND CAME TO REST IN A DRAINAGE DITCH.

AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST, THE PILOT CHECKED ON THE PASSENGER, EXITED THE AIRCRAFT, SHUT OFF THE MASTER SWITCH TO REDUCE FIRE RISK, AND CALLED 911. EMERGENCY RESPONDERS TRANSPORTED THE PASSENGER TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL, WHERE THEY WERE TREATED AND RELEASED THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE INJURY DID NOT REQUIRE SURGICAL INTERVENTION. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.

## 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 WPR26LA077](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26LA077), Jan 5, 2026: Cessna 150A (N7235X), Coolidge, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from transmission wires. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s partially obscured vision due to sun glare.

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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