Event ANC19LA015

Factual narrative

On March 16, 2019, about 1530 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 150H airplane, N7095S, impacted trees while performing an emergency landing after takeoff at Talkeetna Airport (TKA), Talkeetna, Alaska. The certified flight instructor and one student sustained no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to a private individual and was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a visual flight rules instructional flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from TKA, about 1530. During discussion with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the flight instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to provide an introductory flight lesson to a prospective new student. She added that she was in the right seat, and the student was in the left seat at the time of the accident. Prior to departure she checked the movement of the flight controls and stated that they "were free and correct". The flight instructor said that during the first takeoff run, condensation formed on the airplane's windscreen, so she aborted the takeoff and taxied back to the end of Runway 1 for a second attempt, using all 3,500 feet of available runway. During the second takeoff attempt, she applied power with the control yoke full aft for a "soft field" takeoff. The airplane "seemed" to become airborne earlier than normal, and during the initial climb out, the nose of the airplane wanted to pitch up slightly. She applied "some" nose down trim, and pushed the yoke forward "slightly", and the airplane continued to climb. As the airspeed increased the pitch up attitude increased, she then applied full nose down trim and full forward yoke and asked for help from her student. The flight instructor added, she observed the tree line ahead, and unable to correct the nose high attitude of the airplane, reduced the engine power to idle and selected an area of tree covered terrain as an emergency landing site. The airplane subsequently settled into the trees and came to rest near a road. The occupants were able to egress without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the both wings, the empennage, and the fuselage. The flight instructor reported that during the accident flight, they had about 20 lbs. of equipment in the back seat/storage area, including an engine cover, sleeping bag, stove, and winter gear. A postaccident examination of the airplane by the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration revealed no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor further reported that there were no mechanical issues with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that she initiated the takeoff at the beginning of the runway to use all 3,500 ft of available runway. She added that the flight controls were free and correct and that she applied power with the control yoke full aft for a "soft field" takeoff. The airplane "seemed" to become airborne earlier than normal, and during the initial climb, the nose of the airplane wanted to pitch up slightly. She applied "some" nose-down trim and pushed the yoke forward "slightly," and the airplane continued to climb. As the airspeed increased, the airplane's pitch attitude increased; she then applied full nose-down trim and full forward yoke and asked for help from her student. She then reduced the engine power to idle, performed an emergency landing, and the airplane came to rest in the trees. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Attain/maintain not possible - C
• — Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined