# NTSB CEN21LA158: Cessna 150H, N50326, Paris, TX, March 13, 2021 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: March 13, 2021, 08:05 local (14:05 UTC) - Place: Paris, TX - Coordinates: 33.491031, -95.457756 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4910&lon=-95.4578&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 102754 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN21LA158 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/102754/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102754 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA158 ## Probable cause The pilot’s decision to takeoff with known obstacles on the runway and his subsequent failure to avoid the windsock on takeoff. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: animal(s)/bird(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 358 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md) - [Action: incorrect action selection](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 397 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md) - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02010000): Personnel issues › Physical · Pilot; cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02010000/cases.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02010000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Prior to flight: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900); cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) - [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 150H, 27 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2071818), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that while performing a soft and short field takeoff, he allowed the airplane to drift left to avoid crawfish chimneys on the grass runway. Immediately after the wheels left the ground the left wing impacted a windsock. The pilot continued to climb to about 30 ft above the ground at which time the airplane’s left wing lost lift and began to turn towards nearby trees. The pilot elected to land and during the landing the nose gear dropped, dug into the soft ground, and collapsed. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and the right wing. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported he was aware of the crawfish chimneys and normally they would have been removed before the flight, but the tractor used for that purpose was not working. He said he should not have flown until the runway was cleared and paid more attention to the airplane’s alignment on the runway. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N50326](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N50326), registered now, S/N 15069229, built 1968 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150H - Registry model: [Cessna 150H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150h) (registry code 2071818) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15069229 - Year built: 1968 - Airframe hours: 5322 - Engines: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Thompson Arthur W - Registered owner: Thompson Arthur W - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 7, 2020 - Destination: SLR, Sulpher Springs, TX - Airport: None, Private, runway 36/18, 1,940 × 50 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: Handheld GPS, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 75; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 24, 2019; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 900 total, 300 in this make and model, 870 as pilot in command, 2 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 135° at 3 knots - Lowest ceiling: 4,500 ft overcast - Temperature: 65 °F, dew point 60 °F - Altimeter: 29.77 inHg - Observed at: KPRX, 9 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20210313011899A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210313011899A), Mar 13, 2021: Cessna 150H, Paris, TX, Substantial damage. Aircraft taxied out from the [privacy data omitted] hangar onto their private grass field preparing for a soft runway takeoff. The aircraft began down the… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 19, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102754. 7.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 5.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12143433&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 2 photos, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12136300&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20-%20CEN21LA158-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.