CEN25LA147

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150F · Zeeland, MI · April 8, 2025

Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
Date
April 8, 2025, 08:51 local (12:51 UTC)
Place
Zeeland, MI
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N6561FCessna 150F
Defining event
Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of control in flight
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 9, 2026
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration - Grand Rapids FSDO
FAA report
20250408006539A
Case key
199978

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 flight instructor’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during the go-around which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and entering an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and her failure to ensure that the student had relinquished control of the airplane during the go-around.

Findings · 6

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.

Performance/control parameters: pitch controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 150F: 5 casesAll aircraft: 526 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: yaw controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 150F: 1 caseAll aircraft: 149 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: angle of attackAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 150F: 9 casesAll aircraft: 990 casesProbable cause
Action: delayed actionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilotCessna 150F: 6 casesAll aircraft: 894 casesProbable cause
Info processing/decision: identification/recognitionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilotCessna 150F: 4 casesAll aircraft: 559 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · Instructor/check pilotCessna 150F: 28 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause

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 flight instructor and student were conducting a primary instruction flight. The flight instructor reported that the student allowed the airplane to get low and slow during a landing approach. The flight instructor took control of the airplane, added full throttle for a go-around, and began to retract the flaps. The flight instructor recalled being unable to reduce airplane pitch and believed her student may have still been on the flight controls. The student reported that after the flight instructor took control of the airplane it got too slow and entered an aerodynamic stall. Airport surveillance video showed the airplane flying over the runway in a nose-high pitch attitude and yawed left when it descended and impacted the ground left wing first. The airplane then nosed over and came to rest inverted in the grass next to the runway. The airplane’s forward fuselage and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged during the ground impact and subsequent nose over. Neither the flight instructor nor the student reported any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The flight instructor reported that the accident could have been prevented had she not been “overconfident” in the student’s ability to land the airplane, if she had ensured the student had relinquished control of the airplane when she began the go-around, and if she had been quicker to recognize the situation.

Aircraft

Registration
N6561F
Reported as
Cessna 150F
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15063161
Built
1966
Airframe hours
6,796
Engine
Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Wings Aero LLC
Registered owner
Wings Aero LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · March 21, 2025 · 11 hours before
Departed
Z98 · Zeeland, MI
Destination
Z98 · Zeeland, MI
Airport
Z98 · Ottawa Executive Airport, runway 2, 3,800 × 60 ft, asphalt
Equipment
ADS-B, Stall warning system

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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
19
Injuries
None
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
February 26, 2025
Seat
Right
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
262 total · 4 in this make and model · 172 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Role
Student pilot
Age
27
Injuries
None
Seat
Left
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
2 total · 2 in this make and model · 0 as pilot in command

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
340° at 3 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
3,600 ft overcast
Temperature
28 °F, dew point 14 °F
Altimeter
30.16 inHg
Observed at
KBIV, 9 nm away
METAR
METAR KBIV 081253Z AUTO 34003KT 10SM OVC036 M02/M10 A3016 RMK AO2 SLP222 T10171100=

Docket · 4

The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 9, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 15.8 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 N6561F · 2

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.