IAD98LA052

Factual narrative

On May 6, 1998, at 1740 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150, N21971, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during an aborted landing at the Wadsworth Municipal Airport (3G3), Wadsworth, Ohio. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, and had originated at Akron Canton Regional, Akron, Ohio. According to the pilot's certified flight instructor (CFI), this was the pilot's second supervised solo. He was required to complete three supervised solos at three different airports. The pilot had completed his first supervised solo successfully at Akron Fulton International airport a week earlier. The CFI said on the day of the accident, they had completed three touch and go landings earlier. The CFI then asked the pilot if he was ready to solo at 3G3, and the pilot said he was ready. The CFI got out of the airplane, and used a handheld radio to communicate with the pilot. The pilot said that during the first touch and go landing that he completed, he elected to make a full stop landing as he had bounced upon touchdown, and he had used up at least a third of the runway. On the second landing, he touched down half way down the 3,500 foot-long runway, bounced, and the plane veered to the left. He tried to go-around , but the propeller caught the top of the some trees and pulled the airplane into an open field. The CFI said the second approach seemed normal; however, upon touchdown, the airplane bounced about 4 to 6 feet in the air. He said he called to the pilot to "reflare," but there was no response, and he heard the sound of full power being applied. He said that they had practiced go-around procedures which included full power, carburetor heat cold, and retract the flaps in stages. A witness, also a CFI, reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, that the airplane climbed in a nose high attitude to about 100 feet, banked left, rotated 180 degrees, and nosed into the corn field. The pilot had over 21 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model. He said that the accident could have been prevented if he had more training at a small airport such as the accident airport Examination of the wreckage by an FAA Inspector revealed the carburetor heat in the cold position, and the flaps set at 40 degrees (full flaps). The examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded operation. The student pilot was completing his second supervised solo flight. The airplane touched down half way down the 3,500-foot-long runway, and bounced about 4 to 6 feet in the air. The instructor said that he used a handheld radio to communicate with the pilot and called to the pilot to 'reflare,' but there was no response. He heard the sound of full power being applied. The airplane climbed in a nose high attitude to about 100 feet, banked left, rotated 180 degrees, and nosed into a corn field. The pilot had 21 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The pilot said that the accident could have been prevented if he had more training at a small airport, such as the accident airport. Examination of the wreckage by an FAA Inspector revealed the carburetor heat in the cold position, and the flaps set at 40 degrees (full flaps). The examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12