- Date
- July 26, 1997, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Quartzsite, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9903GCessna A150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970726023629A
- Case key
- 29855
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 student pilot's decision to land the airplane on a residential street, where the airplane subsequently hit a sign during the landing roll. Factors related to the accident were the student pilot becoming lost/disoriented during his cross country flight and his subsequent panic.
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 student pilot was conducting his third unsupervised cross-country flight. He stated that the aircraft 'seemed like it was low on fuel.' He said he could not find the Blythe Airport on the VFR sectional. He stated he panicked and circled Quartzsite looking for a place to land the airplane. He finally elected to land on a city street. During the landing rollout, the airplane's wing hit a signpost and the propeller contacted the ground.
Factual narrative
On July 26, 1997, at 0800 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L, N9903G, collided with a signpost during a precautionary landing at Quartzsite, Arizona. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was operated as an instructional flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The flight originated in Ryan, Arizona, at 0540 as a solo cross-country flight to Blythe, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the student had canceled his VFR flight plan prior to the precautionary landing.
The student pilot was conducting his third unsupervised cross-country flight. He stated that the aircraft "seemed like it was low on fuel." He said he could not find the Blythe Airport on the VFR sectional. He stated he "panicked" and circled Quartzsite looking for a place to land the airplane. He finally elected to land on a city street. During the landing rollout, the airplane's wing hit a signpost and the propeller contacted the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9903G
- Reported as
- Cessna A150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- A1500456
- Airframe hours
- 12,539
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis W. Genzman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 20, 1997 · 69 hours before
- Departed
- RYN · Ryan, AZ
- Destination
- 1CA4 · Blythe, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 18
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 44 total · 44 in this make and model · 13 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 31 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BLH, 26 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.