- Date
- July 4, 1995, 10:55 local (15:55 UTC)
- Place
- Fairview, TN
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6051GCessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 27, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950704016119A
- Case key
- 3588
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 pilot's failure to maintain flying speed during climbout. A factor was the wind gust.
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
According to pilot-rated witnesses, after the airplane departed from the southwest runway, the left wing dropped about 60 degrees and the airplane stopped flying. They reported a 25 mph wind gust out of the west at the time. One witness also reported that the engine was running perfectly at the time of the departure.
Factual narrative
On July 4, 1995, at 1055 central daylight time, a Cessna 150, N6051G, collided with the ground after the pilot encountered a wind gust during climbout from a private airstrip in Fairview, Tennessee. The personal flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the pilot and passengers received serious injuries. The accident occurred during the initial takeoff from the sod airstrip.
According to witnesses at the private airstrip, N6051G departed on the southwest runway. The witnesses stated that the left wing dropped about 60 degrees, and the airplane stopped flying. The witnesses, both certificated pilots, reported a 25 mph wind gust out of the west at the time of the accident.
Examination of the aircraft failed to disclose a mechanical problem. The pilot did not recall the circumstances of the aircraft operation, but one witness reported that the engine was running perfectly at the time of the departure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6051G
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15071551
- Airframe hours
- 3,183
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Walter J. Beasely
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 1995 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · Fairview, runway 26, 1,800 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 71
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,074 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 25 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.