Cessna 150F N7064

Summary

On 8 October 2015 at about 21:40 local time, a Cessna 150F registered N7064 was involved in an accident near Big Lake, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 October 2015 at 21:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Lake, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Cubdivision (9AK7)

Coordinates

61.5886, -149.8144

Aircraft

Cessna 150F

Registration

N7064

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Big Lake → Big Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC16FA001

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack while maneuvering, which resulted in a stall at too low an altitude to allow recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo pilot departed from a gravel-covered airstrip. Witnesses reported that they saw the airplane make a left, 270-degree turn and eventually overfly the departure end of the airstrip. The airplane then climbed to about 300 ft above ground level, flew in a southeasterly direction over a nearby house, then began a climbing left turn. Witnesses said that the airplane pitched up, the left wing dropped, and the airplane descended vertically, nose first, disappearing behind a stand of tall trees. The airplane subsequently collided with a paved, rural roadway. A postcrash fire incinerated a large portion of the airplane's cockpit, left wing, and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies with the airplane and engine, the witness statements, and the nature of the damage to the airplane, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently exceeded the airplane's critical angle-of-attack while maneuvering at a low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.