MIA99LA146

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150M · Chattanooga, TN · May 2, 1999

Accident · Minor injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
May 2, 1999, 10:40 local (14:40 UTC)
Place
Chattanooga, TN
Injuries
1 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N704RBCessna 150M
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report September 7, 2000
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19990502004439A
Case key
46232

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control during the flare/touchdown.

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.

Loss of control - in flightLanding - flare/touchdown
Directional control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
On ground/water encounter with terrain/waterLanding - flare/touchdown
Terrain condition - runway

Analysis

The student pilot stated that on the flare for the second full stop landing, the right wing dropped and the airplane yawed to the right. He corrected the roll and yaw with left aileron and left rudder respectively and the airplane began drifting to the right. The student then applied power and the left wing of the airplane contacted the ground followed by the nose section of the airplane.

Factual narrative

On May 2, 1999, about 1040 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N704RB, registered to a private individual, experienced an in-flight loss of control while landing at the Lovell Field Airport, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The flight originated about 1005, from the Lovell Field Airport.

The student pilot stated that he had flown with his certified flight instructor (CFI) earlier, and the CFI got out of the airplane. He departed to perform solo landings and accomplished one full-stop, taxi back landing. The flight departed for the second full-stop landing and while flaring to land, the right wing dropped and the airplane yawed to the right. The student corrected the roll and yaw with left aileron and left rudder respectively and the airplane began drifting to the right. The student then applied power and the left wing of the airplane contacted the ground, followed by the nose section of the airplane.

Aircraft

Registration
N704RB
Reported as
Cessna 150M
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15078804
Airframe hours
4,660
Engine
Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Registered owner
Norman J. Presse Jr.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · December 10, 1998 · 90 hours before
Departed
CHA
Airport
CHA · Lovell Field Airport, runway 20, 7,401 × 150 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
30
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Left
Flight hours
24 total · 24 in this make and model · 23 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
350° at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
66 °F, dew point 45 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
CHA

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 N704RB · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.