- Date
- November 20, 1998, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tower, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N66314Cessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981120031529A
- Case key
- 45345
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane after landing. Factors contributing to this accident were the icy runway and the snowbank.
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
On his third landing at the Tower, Minnesota Airport, the pilot said that he touched down left of the runway centerline, and failed to correct back. He said that 'the left landing gear caught a [snow] drift and caused the nose [of the airplane] to turn into a snowbank.' Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On November 20, 1998, at 1600 central standard time (cst), a Cessna 150M, N66314, operated by a student pilot, sustained substantial damage when during landing it departed the left side of the runway and struck a snow bank. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. There was no flight plan on file. The student pilot reported no injuries. The cross-country flight originated at Ely, Minnesota, at 1445 cst, and was en route to Tower, Minnesota.
In his written statement, the pilot said that he had flown from Ely, Minnesota, to Tower, Minnesota. Prior to the accident, the pilot said that he had previously performed two go-arounds and two landings to runway 26 at Tower Airport. On his third landing, the pilot said that he touched down left of the runway centerline, and failed to correct back. He said that "the left landing gear caught a [snow] drift and caused the nose [of the airplane] to turn into a snowbank."
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane at the Tower Airport. The outboard two feet of the airplane's right wing to the wing tip was bent upward and twisted aft. Flight control continuity was confirmed. No anomalies were found with the airplane's engine, engine controls, or other airplane systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66314
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 150-75983
- Airframe hours
- 3,501
- Engine
- Lycoming O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eric Hietala
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 29, 1998 · 54 hours before
- Departed
- ELO · Ely, MN
- Destination
- 12D
- Airport
- 12D · Tower Airport, runway 26, 3,400 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 19
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 35 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DLH, 58 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.