Cessna 150L N19366

Summary

On 27 May 2018 at about 23:15 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N19366, operated by Sky Soaring Inc., was involved in an accident near Union, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 May 2018 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Union, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Sky Soaring (55LL)

Coordinates

42.1542, -88.5114

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N19366

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Sky Soaring Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Glider Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Union → Union

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA205

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s medical impairment at the time of the accident, which resulted in a collision with power lines off the end of the runway. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot reported that he was returning from a routine glider tow flight when he thought "something was wrong." He noted that it seemed to "get dark" although there was plenty of daylight. The airplane was high on the approach. The pilot continued the flight inbound but was unsure of the airplane's exact altitude or airspeed as it crossed the runway threshold, and he did not recall verifying that the engine power was at idle. The airplane "bounced down the field" and he flew toward an opening in the trees off the end of the runway. The pilot did not see the power lines until the airplane struck them and then came to rest in a field. The pilot recalled not having an "aviation related thought" during the landing. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had completed the Federal Aviation Administration BasicMed medical certification, which was valid at the time of the accident. The pilot described symptoms consistent with fainting or nearly fainting, which commonly occur when blood pressure is low and would have led to an inability to safely fly the airplane. The pilot thought that dehydration or heat exhaustion might have caused his symptoms. However, given his long-standing paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, his difficulty effectively controlling it after the accident, his documented low blood pressure during those episodes, and his lack of symptoms during the episodes of atrial fibrillation other than "feeling bad," it is likely that his symptoms during the flight were related to an episode of atrial fibrillation associated with a rapid heart rate and low blood pressure. Therefore, symptomatic near fainting as a result of uncontrolled paroxysmal atrial fibrillation likely caused the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.