NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI97LA044
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's misjudgment of the landing flare and inadequate airspeed, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
On December 15, 1996, at 1030 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150, N66211, flown by a student pilot collided with the runway following a loss of control during the landing flare. The landing was being made on runway 18 at the Clark County Airport, Jeffersonville, Indiana. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from the Clark County Airport, at 1000 est. The student pilot was practicing touch and go landings when the accident occurred. The student reported he used less than 40 degrees of flaps on the first four landings which resulted in "higher than normal descent rates due to a premature reduction in airspeed above the runway." According to the student the first four landings were "...hard landings in a nose-high attitude... ." On the fifth landing the student used 40 degrees of flaps and "...bled airspeed off enough to stall the airplane approximately 20 feet above the runway." A witness reported the airplane stalled at an altitude of approximately 50 feet above the runway. The airplane impacted with runway and slid approximately 50 feet prior to coming to a stop 2,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. The student pilot was practicing touch and go landings, when the accident occurred. He used less than 40 degrees of flaps for the first four landings, which resulted in hard touchdowns. He used 40 degrees of flaps for the accident landing. The airplane stalled between 20 and 50 feet agl, and impacted the runway prior to sliding 50 feet and coming to rest. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1996_CHI97LA044.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2022 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Takeoff in Icing Conditions — Citation 560XL
Cessna Citation 560XL fatal takeoff icing accident, March 2018. Investigation of a Citation 560XL loss-of-control takeoff accident in icing conditions.
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2010 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Approach — Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air 3407 / Continental Connection (Q400) Buffalo NY, February 12, 2009 — 50 fatalities. Definitive investigation of the Colgan 3407 stall-stick-pusher crash on approach to Buffalo.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Scientific Reports)
Cloud icing by mineral dust and impacts to aviation safety
Ice particles in high-altitude cold clouds can obstruct aircraft functioning. Over the last 20 years, there have been more than 150 recorded cases with engine power-loss and damage caused by tiny clou…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Simulation Modeling Requirements for Loss-of-Control Accident Prevention of Turboprop Transport Aircraft
In-flight loss of control remains the leading contributor to aviation accident fatalities, with stall upsets being the leading causal factor. The February 12, 2009.
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