Cessna 150G N3731J

Summary

On 3 June 1998 at about 20:37 local time, a Cessna 150G registered N3731J was involved in an accident near Selbyville, Delaware, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 June 1998 at 20:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Selbyville, Delaware, United States

Coordinates

38.4696, -75.1708

Aircraft

Cessna 150G

Registration

N3731J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD98LA067

1 person had minor injuries.

Inadequate compensation for wind conditions by the pilot, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane. High, gusting winds were contributing factors.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, when he picked up a banner, a gust of wind caught the left wing and banked the airplane to the right. Despite his efforts of applying left rudder and left aileron, the airplane continued to the right, into the tree line that surrounded the grass strip. He dropped the banner and tried to climb, but the airplane descended into the trees, and impacted the ground. The closest weather reporting station about 10 miles west of the accident site, reported the wind at the time of the accident as 310 degrees at 12 knots, with wind gusts to 18 knots. The pilot said that he estimated the wind speed to be 15 knots with wind gusts to 25 knots. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane or the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.