Cessna 150L N1364Q

Summary

On 15 April 2008 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N1364Q was involved in an accident near Columbia, 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

15 April 2008 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Columbia, California, United States

Nearest airport

Columbia Airport (O22)

Coordinates

38.0306, -120.4144

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N1364Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08LA108

1 person had minor injuries.

The flight instructor's decision to attempt takeoff with an engine discrepancy and subsequent failure to abort takeoff when the airplane did not attain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, resulting in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the partial loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the student pilot had recently purchased the airplane and that they intended to test fly it within the traffic pattern. Prior to departure, he noted that the wind was about 10-15 knots and favored a 2,600-foot-long turf runway. The instructor stated that he initiated a short field takeoff by holding the brakes, using 10 degrees of flaps, and applying full throttle. He recalled that the engine only produced 2,050 rpm, and that he expected the rpm to increase as he released the brakes. During the takeoff roll, the instructor felt that the tall grass slowed the acceleration of the airplane before it lifted off the ground at 55 miles per hour. He lowered the nose to gain airspeed in ground effect, but the airplane was not accelerating. Due to upward sloping terrain with trees and power lines in the flight path of the airplane, he turned left to avoid the obstacles. During the turn, the angle of bank increased due to a wind gust and the airplane stalled, entered a spin to the left, and impacted the ground in a nose low attitude. Examination of the airframe revealed no anomalies. Examination of the engine revealed that the number two cylinder top and bottom spark plugs were fouled with carbon deposits. These spark plugs would not have fired, resulting in a loss of power from the number two cylinder. The aircraft owner's manual states that during the initial takeoff phase the pilot should verify full throttle operation and that the engine should run smoothly and turn approximately 2,500 to 2,600 rpm with carburetor heat off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.