- Date
- September 19, 1994, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9247UCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940919029109A
- Case key
- 19163
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 loss of directional control during the go around.
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
A solo student pilot was on his first unsupervised solo practicing full stop landings. The pilot felt he was going to overshoot the runway and decided to go around. He applied full power but the airplane struck the runway at midfield and ran off the runway to the left. The airplane then became airborne and struck a power line 200 yards down range. The airplane impacted the ground directly below the power line.
Factual narrative
On September 19, 1994, at 1200 central daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N9247U, was destroyed during a go-around near Houston, Texas. The solo student pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions with calm winds prevailed for the solo instructional flight.
According to the FAA Inspector's report, the pilot was on his first unsupervised solo practicing full stop landings on runway 11 at Westheimer Airport, Houston, Texas. The pilot reported that during a landing, he "felt he would overshoot the runway." He initiated a go-around by applying full power. The aircraft struck the runway at approximately midfield, departed the runway to the left, and became airborne just prior to crossing the parallel taxiway. After traveling approximately 200 yards, the aircraft struck a power line, and then impacted directly below it.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9247U
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15078197
- Airframe hours
- 5,700
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Van Passchew, John
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 17, 1994 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- STA4
- Destination
- STA4 · TX
- Airport
- STA4 · Westheimer Airpark, runway 11, 2,500 × 28 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
- 39
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 21 total · 18 in this make and model · 21 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
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 N9247U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.