Cessna 150F N7911F accident near Fairbanks, Alaska

Probable cause

The student pilot did not control the airplane’s pitch attitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall during the takeoff initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to use the pre-takeoff checklist.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot departed on a solo local area practice flight. He said that during the takeoff roll, he held forward pressure on the yoke to keep the nose wheel on the ground. At 50 mph, he let the nose wheel come off the ground, and the airplane rotated into a steep climb. He tried to push the nose down, but the stall warning horn sounded, and the airplane descended toward the ground. He said he did not reduce engine power, and he did not remember checking the elevator trim position before takeoff.

Another student pilot who flew the airplane earlier, reported that he was with an instructor and that his flight was uneventful. He said there were no problems associated with the airplane’s controls. His last landing was a simulated engine out, and he utilized a lot of nose-up trim to maintain the best angle of glide. He said he does not routinely return the trim to neutral after a flight.

An inspection of the airplane showed the trim was set close to the full nose-up position. It is likely that the pilot did not check the trim setting during the pretakeoff inspection, which would have been indicated in the pretakeoff checklist. No interference was found with the flight controls.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC12LA031 for the full record.