- Date
- September 8, 1991, 17:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Pickens, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N11503Cessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910908038689A
- Case key
- 8468
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 panicked, intentional interference of the flight controls by the student.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The instructor pilot said that a walk-in student requested an introductory lesson. Prior to takeoff there was no evidence of nervousness by the student. After takeoff, at about 50 feet, the student panicked, grasped the flight controls, yelled, and tried to hide behind the instrument panel. After grasping the control wheel the student positioned the airplane left wing and nose down. The instructor fought for the controls with partial success. After colliding with trees he shut off the engine with the mixture control & the ignition & master switches. When the airplane came to rest the instructor assisted the student, who was still grasping the flight controls, to exit the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11503
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15075468
- Airframe hours
- 2,750
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Skyline Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Back Country Air
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 15, 1991 · 50 hours before
- Airport
- LQK · Pickens County, runway 4, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,004 total · 230 in this make and model · 869 as pilot in command · 201 in the last 90 days · 58 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AND, 20 nm away
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 N11503 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.