What happened
On June 18, 2025, at approximately 09:22 mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L, registration N6436F, crashed in a rural desert area near Three Points, Arizona. The aircraft was being operated as a Part 91 instructional flight.
The flight departed from Ryan Field Airport (RYN) in Tucson at approximately 09:00. Radar data from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base indicated a flight duration of about 21 minutes, with a flight path consistent with low-altitude maneuvering. The wreckage was located approximately 11 miles south of RYN, about 0.13 miles west of the final radar return.
The student pilot and flight instructor sustained 2 fatal injuries. An alert notification was issued on June 19, 20 following a report from a family member that the aircraft was missing.
The investigation
The wreckage was found upright on its nose with the aft fuselage elevated. The engine and forward cabin showed upward crushing, and the fuselage had separated midway between the rear window and the vertical stabilizer. Both wings showed upward and aft crushing; the left wing remained attached, while the right wing was only partially attached due to the separation of the aft spar attachment point.
Examination of the propeller blades revealed chordwise scratching and leading edge polishing, with one blade bent aft by approximately 45 degrees. During recovery, 100LL aviation fuel was drained from the wing tanks, with approximately 4 gallons remaining in the right tank and 5 gallons in the left tank. No mechanical anomalies were found in the airframe or engine that would have prevented normal operations.