- Date
- September 7, 2015, 10:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Delta Junction, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5947TCessna 150D
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 14, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA Fairbanks FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150907016429A
- Case key
- 92017
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilots decision to land on an unfamiliar, unimproved airstrip which resulted in a loss of control and runway excursion.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was on a local flight when he spotted a remote airstrip and decided to land. He said that from the air, the landing strip appeared longer and wider, but as he was nearing his touchdown, he realized that the landing area was smaller and rougher than expected. The airplane touched down, hit a bump, and bounced into brush on the right side of the landing strip, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot was on a local flight when he spotted a remote airstrip and decided to land. He said that from the air, the landing area appeared longer and wider, but as he was nearing his touchdown, he realized that the landing area was smaller and rougher than expected. The airplane touched down, hit a bump, and bounced into brush on the right side of the landing strip, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident Reporting Form 6120.1, the pilot stated that he should have flown over the landing strip numerous times before attempting to land, and that he should have consulted with a local pilot about the landing conditions at the airstrip.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5947T
- Reported as
- Cessna 150D (D)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15060647
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 3,626
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 17, 2015 · 149 hours before
- Departed
- D66 · Delta Junction, AK
- Destination
- D66 · Delta Junction, AK
- Equipment
- None
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 2, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 851 total · 290 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 7, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5947T · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.