NTSB BFO92LA001 — 1991-10-18 · SALUDA, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N23398

Make / Model: CESSNA 150H
Year of manufacture: 1968 · 23 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19680523
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A21759

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N23398 Cessna 150H None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S DECISION TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF WITH INADEQUATE RUNWAY TO STOP. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE FAILURE OF THE EXHAUST MUFFLER BAFFLE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT COMPLETED THE PREFLIGHT AND PRETAKEOFF CHECKLIST SATISFACTORILY. HE PREPARED FOR A SHORT FIELD TAKEOFF BY HOLDING THE BRAKE AND ADDING FULL POWER. HE RELEASED THE BRAKES AND AS THE AIRCRAFT ACCELERTED TO LIFT OFF SPEED 3/4 DOWN THE RUNWAY AND HE WAS ABOUT TO ROTATE AT 65 KNOTS, HE HEARD A LOUD BANG THAT SOUNDED LIKE A BACKFIRE. HE ABORTED THE TAKEOFF, PULLED THE POWER OFF AND APPLIED THE BRAKES. HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT EXITED THE RUNWAY ONTO A FIELD WHERE IT COLLIDED WITH A DITCH. FAA EXAMINATION OF THE MUFFLER REVEALED RIGHT SIDE EXHAUST BAFFLE FAILURE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_BFO92LA001.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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