History of Flight
On January 20, 2020, about 1220 central standard time, a Cessna 150G airplane, N4763X, was substantially damaged when it struck guy wires of a television tower near Jacksonville, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Cherokee County Airport (JSO) in Jacksonville, Texas, at 1200.
Radar data indicated the pilot departed JSO and proceeded approximately north-northeast, reaching a peak altitude of about 1,600 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane then turned southeast and entered a gradual descent while flying roughly parallel to a state highway. The last radar contact, at about 1220, showed the airplane at 899 ft msl with a groundspeed of 92 knots.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate issued on January 12, 2010. On that application, the pilot reported 2,459 total hours of flight experience.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane struck a set of guy wires secured to the top of a 1,586-ft-tall television tower, located about 1,100 ft east of the main wreckage. About 5 ft of the outboard section of the left wing was found approximately 468 ft south of the tower. Impact marks and stripped paint on the separated wing piece were consistent with contact with a wire. The outboard left wing section and a portion of the right fuel tank were separated; the remaining wreckage was within a 50-ft radius of the main impact site.
The airplane impacted terrain in a nose-down, near-vertical attitude and was destroyed by impact. Flight control continuity was established from the empennage to fuselage station 57 and from the aileron and flap bellcranks to the wing root. The cabin area was destroyed. The propeller remained attached to the engine: one blade was bent aft at the root, and the other exhibited S-bending. Both blades had leading edge polishing and chordwise scratching. The engine was embedded in the ground with significant impact damage. The crankshaft could not be rotated; however, borescope examination of cylinders 2 and 4 revealed no anomalies. Cylinders 1 and 3 could not be borescoped, but their rocker covers were removed and no anomalies were noted. The right magneto was impact damaged; the left magneto produced spark at each terminal lead when rotated by hand.