- Date
- August 7, 1989, 18:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Piedmont, OK
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3893JCessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890807028089A
- Case key
- 22747
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 failure to maintain adequate airspeed while buzzing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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
According to witness statements, the pilot was maneuvering at altitudes estimated at 100 to 500 feet and bank angles up to 90 degrees while making multiple low passes over his son's house. Following a dive maneuver, a rolling pull-up was initiated, then the aircraft stalled & collided with the terrain. In a statement made to the FAA safety inspector, the pilot said, 'I guess I made one pass too low.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3893J
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15065193
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wallace R. Tidwell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Departed
- HSD · Oklahoma City, OK
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PWA, 18 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.