# NTSB SEA99LA122: Cessna 150M, N704AX, Glenns Ferry, ID, July 17, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 17, 1999, 09:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Glenns Ferry, ID - Coordinates: 43.089939, -115.37033 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.0899&lon=-115.3703&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 30, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 46983 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA99LA122 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/46983/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99LA122 ## 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 In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Undetermined, takeoff ## 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](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N704AX-2017-04-13), registration cancelled 2017-04-13, S/N 15078469, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150M - Registry model: [Cessna 150M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150m) (registry code 2071830) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15078469 - Airframe hours: 3085 - Engines: 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 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990717009209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990717009209A), Jul 17, 1999: Cessna 150M, Glenns Ferry, ID, Substantial damage. Cft crashed on takeoff from dirt road 10 n glens Ferry, ID. (-23)pilot loss control of aircraft on takeoff from a dirt road 10 miles north of Glenns Ferry, ID… 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.