Cessna A150L N6085J

Summary

On 18 April 1999 at about 02:00 local time, a Cessna A150L registered N6085J, operated by Thomas E. Dutton, was involved in an accident near Lake Mary, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 April 1999 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Mary, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

35.2300, -111.7202

Aircraft

Cessna A150L

Registration

N6085J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Thomas E. Dutton

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flagstaff → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA154

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's intentional buzzing and misjudged altitude/clearance with the nearby rising terrain. Contributing factors were the high density, the airplane's high gross weight, and the pilot's improper in-flight decisions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger departed Flagstaff and flew about 13 miles east-southeast until reaching Lake Mary. While over the lake, the pilot performed an acrobatic maneuver which was described by a boater as being a roll. Thereafter, the boater observed the airplane passing overhead at an altitude low enough to wave at its occupants. The passenger in the airplane reported that he waved at the boaters, and he observed them wave back. The airplane, described by the passenger as low enough to the lake to have been 'grazing' it, then maneuvered toward the shoreline and adjacent tree-covered rising terrain. The passenger recalled that although the airplane's engine was developing 2,500 rpm and was operating 'fine,' the pilot was unable to gain enough altitude to clear the trees and impacted them during an avoidance turn. Responding officials reported that the airplane collided with approximate 6,500-foot mean sea level terrain, about 300 feet above the lake and 1/8-mile beyond the shoreline. The airplane was at (or over) its maximum certificated gross weight. No airplane records were located. The calculated density altitude exceeded 7,100 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.