Cessna 150A N7218X

Summary

On 16 January 2007 at about 23:20 local time, a Cessna 150A registered N7218X, operated by Daniel R. Detherage, was involved in an accident near Cottonwood, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 January 2007 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Cottonwood, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Cottonwood Airport (P52)

Coordinates

34.7300, -112.0353

Aircraft

Cessna 150A

Registration

N7218X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Daniel R. Detherage

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prescott → Cottonwood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07LA049

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to compensate for a gusty crosswind during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and an on-ground encounter with a ditch. Factors associated with the accident are a crosswind and wind gusts.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certificated flight instructor, with a pilot-rated passenger in the left seat, was landing a tailwheel-converted airplane in gusty, right crosswind conditions. During the landing roll, the instructor lost directional control, and the airplane departed the runway to the right, and went into a ditch. In a written statement to the NTSB, the instructor indicated that there was a structural failure of the tailwheel-mounting bracket that precipitated the loss of control. Three pilot-rated witnesses responded to the accident site immediately after the accident, and none of them reported seeing any significant damage to the tailwheel assembly. A certificated aviation mechanic, and an FAA airworthiness inspector examined the airplane, and stated that the damage to the tailwheel was done during the recovery process, not during the accident. The owner of the airplane related to the NTSB investigator-in-charge that the instructor stated to him that he just lost directional control during the crosswind landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.