Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB WPR14FA183
CESSNA 150 - F — Santa Clara, UT
| Date | May 7, 2014 |
| Location | Santa Clara, UT |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 150 - F |
| Purpose of flight | Instructional |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 75 |
| Pilot total time | 14,766 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | 11 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Mountainous/hilly terrain-Awareness of condition - C
What happened
A witness reported that he observed the airplane at an altitude of between 800 to 1,000 ft above ground level about 2 miles from his location. About the same time, he also heard the airplane's engine sputter, and he then observed the airplane in a vertical, nose-down attitude for 3 to 4 seconds before it went out of sight behind a hill. The wreckage was found about 2 hours later in remote mountainous, rocky terrain. An on-site examination of the airframe and engine revealed that the airplane impacted the terrain upright in a flat orientation on a 27-degree downslope. Based on observed impact signatures, the airplane's forward momentum was negligible just before it impacted terrain. All of the components necessary for flight were accounted for at the accident site. Additionally, examinations of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the witness's observations and the physical evidence observed at the accident site, it is likely that the airplane was in a steep descent at a low altitude and that the flight instructor failed to pull the airplane up and out of the nose-down attitude at a sufficient altitude to preclude impact with terrain.