SEA99LA122

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150M · Glenns Ferry, ID · July 17, 1999

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 17, 1999, 09:30 local (15:30 UTC)
Place
Glenns Ferry, ID
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N704AXCessna 150M
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report November 30, 2000
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19990717009209A
Case key
46983

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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the attempted takeoff. A related factor was the pilot's lack of recent experience.

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.

UndeterminedTakeoff

Analysis

The pilot departed for the flight without a current medical certificate or flight review. After reaching his destination, the pilot performed a landing on a hard packed dirt road. During a subsequent takeoff attempt from the road, the pilot lost directional control of the aircraft and veered off the road surface. The aircraft impacted terrain adjacent to the road. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved, and a post-accident inspection of the aircraft revealed no indication of mechanical failure.

Factual narrative

On July 17, 1999, approximately 0930 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N704AX, was substantially damaged during an attempted takeoff from a dirt road approximately 10 miles north of Glenns Ferry, Idaho. The private pilot-in-command, who was the aircraft's owner and sole occupant, was not injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight. The aircraft departed Caldwell Industrial Airport, Caldwell, Idaho, about 1 hour prior to the accident. There was no fire, and no report of an ELT activation.

The pilot departed for the cross country flight without a current medical certificate or a current flight review. After reaching his destination, the pilot performed a landing on a hard packed dirt road. The pilot reported that during a subsequent takeoff attempt from the road, he lost control of the aircraft and it veered off the road surface. The aircraft impacted terrain adjacent to the road; its left wing and fuselage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported on his NTSB accident report that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector from the Boise, Idaho, Flight Standards District Office, inspected the wreckage and reported there was no indication of a mechanical failure.

Aircraft

Registration
N704AX
Reported as
Cessna 150M
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15078469
Airframe hours
3,085
Engine
Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Lorrie E. Mecham
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · January 1, 1999 · 60 hours before
Departed
EUL · Caldwell, ID

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
59
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Expired
Seat
Left
Flight hours
1,600 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Variable at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
88 °F, dew point 37 °F
Altimeter
29.00 inHg
Observed at
BOI, 50 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.