Cessna 150F N7064 accident near Big Lake, Alaska

Probable cause

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.

NTSB analysis

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.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC16FA001 for the full record.