Accident Overview
On May 15, 2024, about 2039 central daylight time, a Cessna 150L airplane, registered as N1701Q, was destroyed during an accident near Godley, Texas. The student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
Flight History
According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data, the airplane departed Cleburne Regional Airport (CPT) in Cleburne, Texas, at 1948 from runway 15. It entered a right traffic pattern for that runway, completed one landing, and then departed to the south. The airplane then flew west over Lake Pat Cleburne before turning south-southwest.
Between 2001:40 and 2004:49, about 5 nautical miles south-southwest of CPT, the airplane performed a series of left-and-right 360° turns between 3,200 and 3,300 ft mean sea level (msl). After these turns, it continued south-southwest. At 2007:30, it turned right and proceeded west-northwest while climbing to a maximum altitude of about 4,100 ft msl. Around 2017:00, it turned west.
Between 2018:24 and 2022:15, about 4 nautical miles south-southeast of Granbury, Texas, the airplane completed a series of descending left-and-right turns, then continued descending while flying east-northeast toward the Brazos River near DeCordova, Texas.
Between 2025:50 and 2028:56, about 1.25 nautical miles south-southwest of DeCordova, the airplane performed descending left-and-right turns over the Brazos River near the west edge of Lake Granbury, descending as low as 2,200 ft msl (1,500 ft above ground level) before climbing. It then climbed to about 2,600 ft msl while flying east over Lake Granbury, then continued toward CPT to the east-southeast.
From 2033:38 to 2038:08, no FAA ADS-B data was recorded, but data from ADS-B Exchange indicated the airplane continued east-southeast with a ground speed between 5 and 50 knots. When FAA ADS-B data resumed at 2038:08, the airplane was about 1 nautical mile west-northwest of the accident site. At 2038:10, it began climbing from about 1,950 ft msl with a ground speed of 55 knots and calibrated airspeed of 75 knots. It maintained an east-southeast track while climbing at 400-500 feet per minute until another loss of data after 2039:08, at which point it was climbing through 2,300 ft msl with a ground speed of 48 knots and calibrated airspeed of 69 knots.
For the next 28 seconds, no FAA ADS-B data was recorded; limited data from ADS-B Exchange showed the airplane entered a left turn toward north while its ground speed decreased to as slow as 13 knots. When FAA ADS-B data resumed at 2039:37, the airplane was in a rapid descent about 300 ft southeast of the accident site. During the final 7 seconds of recorded data, ground speed varied between 5 and 60 knots and vertical speed varied between -6,000 and -10,000 fpm. At 2039:44, the final data point showed the airplane descending at -7,500 fpm through 1,000 ft msl (75 ft agl) with a ground speed of 42 knots and calibrated airspeed of 79 knots.
Witness Account
A witness and her daughter, driving in their truck less than a quarter mile from the accident site, saw the airplane flying lower than they considered normal. They could not hear it because they were inside the truck. They observed the airplane flying very slowly, almost “hovering,” before it suddenly entered a spiraling nosedive. The airplane completed at least 6 to 8 rotations in the descending spiral before disappearing behind a hill. They called 911 after seeing smoke and fire rising from the accident site.
Wreckage Examination
The accident site was in an open grass pasture near Godley, Texas. The airplane came to rest upright and wings level on a south-southeast heading. There was significant postimpact fire that destroyed the entire cabin and cockpit, including all avionic devices. All flight control surfaces were located at the site. The fixed nose landing gear remained attached to the engine mount. The engine was canted down and to the right.
The empennage was thermally separated from the aft fuselage but remained relatively intact with minor impact damage. The vertical stabilizer with rudder and both horizontal stabilizers with elevators remained attached. All primary flight control surfaces, trim tabs, and flaps were accounted for. Cable continuity was confirmed for all primary flight controls from the cockpit to their respective surfaces.
The cockpit control column exhibited thermal damage. The aileron chain remained intact, and the elevator push/pull tube remained attached. The elevator forward bellcrank was destroyed by fire except for steel clevises and attaching hardware. The left and right ailerons remained attached. The rudder remained attached, and its stop assemblies showed no evidence of overtravel; the rudder surface was displaced to the right due to impact.
The elevator trim actuator extension was about 1.8 inches, corresponding to an elevator trim tab position of about 7° trailing edge up. The flap actuator jackscrew was fully extended (5.9 inches), consistent with flaps fully extended (40° down) at impact. Left- and right-wing flaps remained attached except for fire-damaged areas.
The left fuel tank remained attached to the left wing and exhibited hydraulic deformation; it contained a blue fluid consistent with 100 low-lead aviation fuel. The right fuel tank was separated from the right wing and contained water from firefighting and rain. Fuel lines and the fuel strainer assembly were destroyed or thermally damaged.
The engine mount remained attached. The oil kidney tank remained attached but damaged. The starter remained attached; the rear accessory section and both magnetos were destroyed by fire. The exhaust manifold was cut for recovery. Upper spark plugs exhibited features consistent with normal operation. The engine crankshaft rotated by hand with internal continuity confirmed. Compression and suction were noted on cylinders 2, 3, and 4, but not on cylinder 1. No movement was observed on cylinder 1’s exhaust valve. Borescope inspection of cylinders revealed no anomalies. The oil filter was separated and thermally damaged.
Cylinder 1 was removed to harvest valves; the three exhaust valve springs were about 0.25 inch shorter than the intake springs, consistent with compression at impact and taking a new set when cooled after the postimpact fire. The shorter springs prevented the exhaust valve from seating, accounting for the lack of compression.
Mechanical continuity was confirmed for throttle, mixture, and carburetor heat controls. The carburetor and airbox exhibited significant thermal damage; the carburetor fuel bowl had a hole and contained no residual fuel. The throttle valve did not rotate due to impact damage.
The fixed two-blade propeller remained attached to the crankshaft flange. One blade had a slight bend/twist about 10 inches from the tip, a leading-edge gouge, and minor chordwise scratches; the other blade was relatively undamaged.
Examination Findings
The wreckage examination revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.