Cessna 150H N6973S

Summary

On 9 June 2005 at about 03:30 local time, a Cessna 150H registered N6973S was involved in an accident near Morrilton, Arkansas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

9 June 2005 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Morrilton, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Morrilton Municipal Airport (BDQ)

Coordinates

35.1361, -92.7133

Aircraft

Cessna 150H

Registration

N6973S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Morrilton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DFW05CA160

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain proper alignment with the runway during landing. A contributing factor was the dark night lighting condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 80-hour pilot reported that during final approach on a night flight, the airplane "experienced a gust of wind" and drifted to the left of the runway. Subsequently, the airplane landed on the grass area adjacent to the runway, bounced, and became airborne. The pilot stated that because he was not sure of the remaining distance to the tree line on the departure end of the runway, he decided to perform a soft field landing on the grass adjacent to the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a drainage ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. A weather reporting station 20 nautical miles west of the accident site reported 37 minutes prior to the accident wind calm and clear sky. The pilot added that other than the "wind gust" experienced on final approach, the wind was calm at the time of the accident. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department, three percent the moons visible disc was illuminated.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.