- Date
- August 4, 1994, 22:45 local (Aug 5, 1994, 03:45 UTC)
- Place
- Dallas, TX
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N60124Cessna 150J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940804020079A
- Case key
- 19133
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 loss of engine power due to failure of the starter gear and shaft assembly needle bearing. Factors were the dark night conditions and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
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
Thirty five minutes into the dark night VMC flight, the engine seized with no warning. The pilot executed a forced landing to a golf course and impacted a tree just before landing. Engine teardown disclosed that the bearing inside the gear and sprag housing was missing a needle and was locked in position on the starter gear and shaft assembly. The missing needle was not found. The gear and sprag housing would not rotate in either direction on the shaft assembly. This resulted in the engine back driving the starter.
Factual narrative
On August 4, 1994, at 2245 central daylight time, a Cessna 150J, N60124, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on a golf course, in the vicinity of Dallas, Texas. The airplane, privately owned and flown by a commercial pilot, was on a local personal flight. There was no flight plan filed and dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot received minor injuries.
The aircraft departed from the Addison Airport in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, at 2210. The pilot stated that she intended to return to the Addison Airport to land. According to the pilot's endorsed statement, the aircraft was between 1500 to 1700 feet above mean sea level when the engine "seized" and the "propeller would not windmill." An air restart was attempted, but was not successful. The pilot then executed a forced landing on a golf course. Just before touchdown, the right wing struck a tree.
Examination and teardown of the engine on August 24, 1994, at Air Salvage of Dallas (ASOD), revealed that the engine crankshaft rotated with difficulty until the starter was removed. Further examination revealed that the bearing inside the gear and sprag housing was missing a needle and was locked in position on the gear and shaft assembly. The missing needle was not found. The gear and sprag housing would not rotate in either direction on the shaft assembly. The starter rotated freely once the gear and shaft assembly was removed.
A review of the engine log books revealed that a starter clutch (p/n 5853) was installed on January 1, 1993. Additional work on the starter for damaged threads was documented in the log books on December 22, 1993.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N60124
- Reported as
- Cessna 150J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15070087
- Airframe hours
- 7,464
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Braun, Opta L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 14, 1994 · 56 hours before
- Departed
- ADS · Addison, TX
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
- 25
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,257 total · 1,050 in this make and model · 1,060 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N60124 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.