- Date
- July 8, 2005, 09:15 local (15:15 UTC)
- Place
- Rocky Ford, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6839GCessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20050708016819A
- Case key
- 61863
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's misjudged distance/altitude. A contributing factor was the inadvertent flap retraction.
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 had a history of uncommanded flap retraction, but an airworthiness inspector could find no anomalies. The pilot took off to practice touch-and-go landings. The first landing, using 20 degrees of flaps, was without incident. On the second landing approach, he used 30 degrees of flaps. The airplane began to settle and the pilot added full power and pulled aft on the control yoke. The airplane landed hard and short of the runway. The pilot closed the throttle. The airplane struck a dirt bank and nosed over. As the pilot climbed out, he noticed the flap indicator "was at about 2 degrees." In a later interview with an FAA inspector, the pilot said no discrepancies were found with the flap system and that it was likely he had inadvertently retracted the flaps.
Factual narrative
On June 8, 2005, approximately 0915 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N6839G, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during landing at a private airstrip near Rocky Ford, Colorado. Visual metrological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local personal flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight originated at this airstrip approximately 0900 mdt.
The pilot said the airplane had a history of uncommanded flap retraction, but an airworthiness inspector could find no abomalies. The pilot took off to practice touch-and-go landings. The first landing, using 20 degrees of flaps, was without incident. On the second landing approach, he used 30 degrees of flaps. The airplane began to settle and the pilot added full power and pulled aft on the control yoke. The airplane landed hard and short of the runway. The pilot closed the throttle. The airplane struck a dirt bank and nosed over. As the pilot climbed out, he noticed the flap indicator "was at about 2 degrees."
In a later interview with an FAA inspector, the pilot said no discrepancies were found with the flap system and that it was likely he had inadvertently retracted the flaps.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6839G
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15072339
- Airframe hours
- 4,030.1
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fred Piatt Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2005 · 2.47 hours before
- Departed
- Rocky Ford, CO
- Airport
- UNK · Cottonwood, runway 27, 2,800 × 70 ft, grass/turf
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
- 76
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 508 total · 47 in this make and model · 461 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.