- Date
- January 10, 2004, 18:30 local (Jan 11, 2004, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Princeton, MO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3088JCessna 150E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20040110035469A
- Case key
- 58613
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 encounter with the unknown snow drifts during landing. The factors were the snow drifts, night, and the airport's failure to issue a NOTAM on the runway conditions.
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 airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over on contact with a snow drift during a night landing. The pilot stated, "On approach slowed to 60 [knots] airspeed and three notches flaps on touchdown the wheels seemed to slow that pulled nose wheel down and it seemed to slow also, when the nose wheel slowed I lost control, veered to the left somewhat. At about 150 feet the plane flipped tail over nose at edge of runway. Upon exiting plane, determined there was 6" to 8" of snow [at] 1830 PM." The pilot did not list any mechanical malfunctions in reference to the flight. The airport did not issue any notice to airmen (NOTAM) to the Flight Service Station concerning the runway conditions present at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On January 10, 2004, about 1830 central standard time, a Cessna 150E, N3088J, owned and piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when the aircraft nosed over on contact with a snow drift during landing on runway 36 at Princeton-Kauffman Memorial Airport (7MO), near Princeton, Missouri. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was on file. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The personal flight originated at Macon-Fower Memorial Airport (K89) at 1730, and was landing 7MO at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated:
Left K89 at approximately 17:30 PM [the] wind was calm, [and]
had good flight to 7MO. On approach slowed to 60 [knots]
airspeed and three notches flaps on touchdown the wheels seemed to
slow that pulled nose wheel down and it seemed to slow also, when
the nose wheel slowed I lost control, veered to the left somewhat.
At about 150 feet the plane flipped tail over nose at edge of runway.
Upon exiting plane, determined there was 6" to 8" of snow [at] 1830 PM.
At 1856, the recorded weather at Lamoni Municipal Airport (LWD), Lamoni, Iowa, located approximately 19 miles northwest of 7MO, was: Wind 180 degrees at 10 knots; visibility 5 statute miles; present weather haze; sky condition clear; temperature -2 degrees C; dew point -5 degrees C; altimeter 30.18 inches of mercury.
The pilot did not list any mechanical malfunctions in reference to the flight in his accident report.
According to the Columbia Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), no notice to airmen (NOTAM) had been issued concerning runway conditions present at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3088J
- Reported as
- Cessna 150E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 150-6118
- Airframe hours
- 7,027.7
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James L. Willis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 3, 2003 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- K89 · Macon, MO
- Destination
- 7MO · Princeton, MO
- Airport
- 7MO · Princeton-Kauffman Memorial, runway 36, 2,475 × 100 ft, snow
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- September 4, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 117 total · 110 in this make and model · 110 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- LWD, 19 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.