Cessna 150 N150TP accident near Pelzer, South Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed while landing on a short, down-sloping turf runway, which resulted in a noseover.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he was landing on the private turf runway for the first time. The airplane was on stabilized approach to the 2,400-ft-long but was “a little fast.” The pilot fully extended the airplane’s flaps and touched down about one-third down the runway. About halfway down the runway, the grade steepened downward. The pilot elected not to perform a go-around due to powerlines and trees at the end of the runway. He attempted to stop the airplane on the remaining runway with braking, but when he realized that the airplane would likely overrun the runway, he “made the decision to flip the plane to arrest the forward motion.” The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted on the runway resulting in substantial damage to the empennage and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA25LA252 for the full record.