- Date
- June 4, 2002, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ormond Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N63591Cessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020604014379A
- Case key
- 54849
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 flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the dual student and failure to take prompt remedial action, resulting in a collision with a tree, a subsequent loss of control, and collision with the ground.
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 flight instructor stated that the takeoff and initial climb were uneventful, with the engine developing full power, and that during the climb the student pitched up excessively, and the airspeed decayed to near the stall speed. He said he then took control of the aircraft to avert a departure stall, and tried to clear trees at the end of the runway, steering the aircraft toward an area of lower trees, and extending the flaps to forty degrees in an attempt to balloon over the trees, but the left main landing gear became entangled in a tree, and the aircraft crashed incurring substantial damage. An FAA Inspector conducted a postaccident examination of the aircraft and stated that he did not find evidence of any preaccident failures or malfunctions to the aircraft or any of its systems which would have caused the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 4, 2002, about 1230, eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N63591, registered to, and operated by Ormond Beach Aviation Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, crashed during takeoff/initial climb from the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, Ormond Beach, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft incurred substantial damage, and the commercial-rated flight instructor and dual student received minor injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The flight instructor stated that he and his student were initiating a flight, so his student could practice soft and short field takeoffs and landings. He stated that the takeoff and initial climb were uneventful, with the engine developing full power, and that during the climb the student pitched the aircraft up excessively, and the airspeed decayed to near the stall speed. The instructor further stated that he then took control of the aircraft to avert a departure stall, pitching down to attain sufficient airspeed, but the aircraft would not climb sufficiently. As they approached some trees at the end of the runway, he said he steered the aircraft toward an area of lower trees, extending the flaps to 40 degrees, in an attempt to balloon over the trees, but the left main landing gear became entangled in a tree. The aircraft flipped over, coming to rest nearly inverted at the base of a tree, incurring substantial damage.
An FAA Inspector responded to the accident, and conducted an examination of the accident aircraft. The inspector noted that there was extensive structural damage to the aircraft, and stated that he did not find evidence of any preaccident failures or malfunctions to the aircraft or any of its systems which would have caused the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N63591
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15077414
- Airframe hours
- 16,264
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ormond Beach Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 16, 2002 · 55.1 hours before
- Departed
- OMN · Ormond Beach, FL
- Destination
- OMN
- Airport
- OMN · Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, runway 08, 4,004 × 75 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 432 total · 157 in this make and model · 366 as pilot in command · 96 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 17 total · 17 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- DAB, 8 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 7, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 418 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.