Cessna 150L N1557Q

Summary

On 26 April 2007 at about 22:15 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N1557Q was involved in an accident near Watsonville, California, United States. 2 people were 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

26 April 2007 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Watsonville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Watsonville Muni (WVI)

Coordinates

35.9347, -121.7869

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N1557Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Watsonville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX07CA135

1 person had minor injuries.

a partial loss of engine power for undertermined reasons during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane nosed over in a wheat field following a loss of engine power during takeoff. The certified flight instructor (CFI) estimated that 10 to 15 minutes elapsed between completion of the run-up and takeoff checklist before traffic cleared so that he and the student could take off. The takeoff was normal, and they started their climb to the practice area. About 200 to 300 feet agl, the engine started to lose power; it didn't just lose power. He took control. He applied carburetor heat, and pumped the throttle a few times as he had done in the past to keep an engine running. However, the engine didn't respond. The airplane was over the end of the runway. He felt that they were too low to turn around, and wanted to get the airplane down before they flew past the clear area before a freeway. He aimed for a wheat field that he thought would cushion the landing. He estimated that about 40 seconds elapsed from the loss of power to touchdown. The wheat in the field was 4-feet tall, and a lot thicker than the CFI expected. It stopped the airplane on touchdown, causing a nose over. He saw fire in the engine compartment. He instructed the student to be careful unstrapping since they were inverted, but to hurry. They both exited out the right side door, and cleared the airplane. The FAA coordinator examined the airplane and engine and no abnormalities were found to preclude normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.