Cessna 150 N9492U accident near Whitehall, Michigan

Probable cause

The pilot’s flight into a water tower while operating below minimum safe altitudes for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence for this investigation.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a personal flight in visual meteorological conditions below the minimum safe altitudes and over congested areas when the airplane impacted the center of a water tower. Witnesses observed the airplane in straight and level flight before impact and reported the engine was running at that time. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies that would have prevented the pilot from maneuvering to avoid the tower.

The pilot’s toxicology results were positive for an antidepressant and a sedating antihistamine. The pilot was operating the airplane with an expired medical certificate, and his medical records indicated that he had been prescribed an antidepressant to treat anxiety/depression. This medication required the pilot to obtain a special issuance medical certificate before operating the airplane. It could not be determined if the pilot was impaired by his use of these medications or by the underlying conditions that warranted the medication.

The reasons that the pilot operated the airplane over a congested area at a low altitude and failed to avoid the water tower could not be determined based on the available evidence for this investigation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN19LA308 for the full record.