# NTSB ERA13LA151: Cessna 150, N3438J, Naples, ME, March 2, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 2, 2013, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC) - Place: Naples, ME - Coordinates: 44.020557, -70.642219 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.0206&lon=-70.6422&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 18, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 86336 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA13LA151 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/86336/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86336 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13LA151 ## Probable cause The student pilot’s improper decision to land on a frozen lake. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150G, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2071816), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Terrain: snowy/icy terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021030): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Decision related to condition; cases with it: [Cessna 150G, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021030/cases.md?model=2071816), [All aircraft, 77 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094); cases with it: [Cessna 150G, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=2071816), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 150G, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2071816), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis For the solo instructional flight, the student pilot had obtained an endorsement from his flight instructor to fly from the departure airport to the destination airport. During the flight, the student pilot decided to make an unauthorized stop and land on a frozen lake to visit a friend. Upon touchdown on the lake, which was covered in a layer of slush and snow, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. ## Factual narrative On March 2, 2013, approximately 1045 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150G, N3438J, was substantially damaged during landing on Long Lake in Naples, Maine. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight, which departed Eastern Slopes Regional Airport (IZG), Fryeburg, Maine, and was destined for Limington-Harmon Airport (63B), Limington, Maine. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot reported in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report Form that he was practicing maneuvers at 2,500 feet before descending the airplane to 700 feet over the frozen lake. He applied engine power to climb the airplane back to a higher altitude, but when the engine “would not respond,” the pilot believed there was carburetor ice present, and conducted a forced landing to the lake. During the landing roll, the airplane traveled about 150 feet in a 12-inch-thick layer of snow and slush before the nose landing gear collapsed and bent aft, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The airplane came to rest approximately 250 yards from the south shore of the lake. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector responded to the accident scene, and spoke with the pilot immediately following the accident. The pilot stated to the inspector that he had intended to land on the lake in order to visit with a friend, and reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane. He further stated that his certificated flight instructor had given him an endorsement for the flight between IZG and 63B, but had not provided an endorsement for landing on the lake. The pilot held a student pilot certificate and reported 45 total hours of flight experience, of which 26 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. The 1054 weather observation at IZG, located approximately 13 miles southwest of the accident site, included winds from 10 degrees at 10 knots, 10 miles visibility, broken clouds at 3,700 feet, temperature 4 degrees C, dew point 4 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.62 inches of mercury. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3438J](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3438J-2018-02-08), registration cancelled 2018-02-08, S/N 15066138, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150 (G) - Registry model: [Cessna 150G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150g) (registry code 2071816) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15066138 - Airframe hours: 2091 - Engines: CONTINENTAL O200 90 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Anthony J Longley - Registered owner: Anthony J Longley - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Annual, May 3, 2012 - Departed: IZG, Fryeburg, ME - Destination: 63B, Limginton, ME ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 57; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 45 total, 26 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 10° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,700 ft broken - Temperature: 39 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 29.62 inHg - Observed at: IZG, 13 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130302022009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130302022009A), Mar 2, 2013: Cessna 150G, Naples, ME, Substantial damage. The student pilot was returning to his home airport after practicing take-offs and landings at another airport. He decided to land at a nearby lake and vist a… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 14, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86336. 4.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 561 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391497&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Memorandum for Record - FAA Inspector (item 2, .PDF, 117 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391510&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20for%20Record%20-%20FAA%20Inspector-Master.PDF - Photo 1 - Airplane from rear (Courtesy of FAA) (item 3, .PDF, 767 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391532&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Airplane%20from%20rear%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photo 2 - Airplane from front (Courtesy of FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 2.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40391535&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202%20-%20Airplane%20from%20front%20(Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.