Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB CEN17FA281
CESSNA 150F — Farmerville, LA
| Date | July 23, 2017 |
| Location | Farmerville, LA |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 150F |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 73 |
| Pilot total time | 16,870 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Water-Contributed to outcome
What happened
While on a personal flight, the airline transport pilot made several low passes over a lake in front of a friend's house. The friend and two other witnesses reported that, on its last pass, the airplane was flying at a low altitude when it pitched down slightly, impacted the surface of the lake, nosed over, and sank. The friend reported hearing the engine "sputter" followed by an increase in power before the impact, and one of the other witnesses reported that the engine was running throughout the low pass.
A postaccident examination of the wreckage did not find any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Although the temperature and dew point were conducive to serious icing at glide power, the witness observations and forward bending of the propeller blades were consistent with the engine operating at cruise or climb power at impact.
A portable GPS unit found in the wreckage did not contain any data about the accident flight. However, the GPS unit did record data consistent with previous flights where an airplane flew near the accident location. Additionally, one witness stated that the pilot was friends with a neighbor and had conducted numerous low passes over the lake during the previous 4 years.