# NTSB SEA04CA136: Cessna 150L, N18542, La Center, WA, July 16, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 16, 2004, 11:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: La Center, WA - Coordinates: 45.830276, -122.637496 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8303&lon=-122.6375&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report October 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Portland, OR - NTSB case key (mKey): 59808 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA04CA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59808/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA04CA136 ## Probable cause The private pilot receiving the flight review's failure to follow the Owner’s Manual's procedures for a go-around. Contributing factors were the flight instructor's delay in telling the private pilot to go-around, and the trees. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, takeoff - aborted - remedial action - delayed, other crewmember (contributing factor) - procedures/directives - not followed, pilot in command (cause) - object - tree(s) (contributing factor) ## Analysis The flight instructor was giving a private pilot a flight review. He said that the private pilot had set up the landing and had lowered the flaps to the full down position. The flight instructor reported that they were high and long for a landing. He told the private pilot to abort the landing. The private pilot first raised the flaps, and the airplane "immediately" mushed to a lower altitude. The flight instructor said that he applied full power and put the carburetor heat in [off]. He took control of the airplane and attempted to continue flight. The airplane struck some trees and impacted the ground. The private pilot receiving the flight review said that he thought he put the power in first and then put the carburetor heat in [off]. He had an estimated 200 hours of flight experience, and he said that he flies approximately 5 to 10 hours per year. The Owner's Manual states that a go-around is performed by: 1. Throttle -- Full "Open." 2. Carburetor Heat -- Cold. 3. Wing Flaps -- Retract to 20 degrees. 4. Upon reaching an airspeed of approximately 65 MPH, retract flaps slowly. ## Factual narrative On July 16, 2004, at approximately 1100 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N18542, was substantially damaged when it struck trees and impacted the ground at Daybreak Airport, near La Center, Washington. The flight instructor and private pilot received minor injuries. Aero Maintenance Inc., of Vancouver, Washington was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country instructional flight that originated from Vancouver, Washington, approximately 1 hour before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed for the local flight. The flight instructor said that he was giving the private pilot a flight review. They had done some air work and he had asked the private pilot to perform a full-stop landing at Daybreak Airport (runway 13, 2,200 feet long). He said that the private pilot had set up the landing and had lowered the flaps to the full down position. The flight instructor said that "it was apparent that we were high and long for the landing." He told the private pilot to abort the landing. The private pilot first raised the flaps, and the airplane "immediately" mushed to a lower altitude. The flight instructor said that he applied full power and put the carburetor heat in [off]. He took control of the airplane and attempted to continue flight. The airplane struck some trees and impacted the ground. The private pilot receiving the flight review said, in a telephone interview, that he thought he put the power in first and then put the carburetor heat in [off]. He had an estimated 200 hours of flight experience, and he said that he flies approximately 5 to 10 hours per year. The airplane manufacturer's Owner's Manual states that a go-around is performed by: 1. Throttle -- Full "OPEN." 2. Carburetor Heat -- Cold. 3. Wing Flaps -- Retract to 20 degrees. 4. Upon reaching an airspeed of approximately 65 MPH, retract flaps slowly. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N18542](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N18542-2006-08-30), registration cancelled 2006-08-30, S/N 15073930, built 1972 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150L - Registry model: [Cessna 150L](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150l) (registry code 2071826) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15073930 - Engines: Continental O-200 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Aero Maintenance Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2004 - Departed: VUO, Vancouver, WA - Destination: WA46, Daybreak Apt, WA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 200 total, 200 in this make and model, 1 in the last 24 hours - Flight instructor; age 59; injuries: minor; flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; last flight review October 18, 2002; seat: right; flight hours: 1,848 total, 580 in this make and model, 1,764 as pilot in command, 62 in the last 90 days, 33 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 0° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: PDX, 30 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040716014009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040716014009A), Jul 16, 2004: Cessna 150L, La Center, WA, Destroyed. (-23) According to the pilot and flight instructor, the pilot was making an approach to land at daybreak airpark, Washington. On the approach, aircraft was… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.