- Date
- October 21, 2002, 16:34 local (21:34 UTC)
- Place
- Kincaid, IL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7XCCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - Springfield FSDO
- FAA report
- 20021021033709A
- Case key
- 55917
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 not maintaining altitude/clearance from the terrain during the aerobatic maneuver. A factor to the accident was the pilot being impaired by alcohol.
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 pilot attempted an aerobatic maneuver and impacted the terrain. The pilot said he was on a "recreational flight" near his residence when the accident occurred. The pilot stated the airplane stalled when he was making a "maneuvering turn." The pilot reported the airplane was "to near ground to effect recovery." Several witnesses to the accident described the airplane performing an aerobatic maneuver when the accident occurred. Several witnesses reported the pilot's breath smelled of alcohol and he was acting "confused" after the accident. Two witnesses said the pilot was "intoxicated." The pilot was transported to a hospital and samples were collected for toxicology testing. A blood alcohol test, performed approximately two hours after the accident, tested positive for ethanol. The blood alcohol level was reported as 0.270%.
Factual narrative
On October 21, 2002, 1634 central daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N7XC, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with the terrain while attempting an aerobatic flight maneuver near Kincaid, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The local flight departed from a field near Kincaid, Illinois, at 1515.
According to the pilot's written statement, he was on a "recreational flight" near his residence when the accident occurred. The pilot stated the airplane stalled when he was making a "maneuvering turn." The pilot reported the airplane was "to near ground to effect recovery."
Several witnesses to the accident described the airplane performing an aerobatic maneuver when the accident occurred. Several witnesses reported the pilot's breath smelled of alcohol and he was acting "confused" after the accident. Two witnesses said the pilot was "intoxicated."
The pilot was transported to a hospital and samples were collected for toxicology testing. A blood alcohol test, performed at 1840, tested positive for ethanol. The blood alcohol level was reported as 0.270%.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7XC
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1507899
- Airframe hours
- 5,635
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Derrell Penrod
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 2002 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Kincaid, IL
- Destination
- PVT · Kincaid, IL
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- January 27, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 400 total · 50 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- TAZ, 5 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.