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NYC92FA185

1992-09-13 · LAKE NEEPAULIN, New Jersey, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport N63

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

AN INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH TREES AFTER THE PILOT FAILED TO OUTCLIMB THE TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF THE FLAPS AND THE PILOT'S DECISION TO OPERATE THE AIRPLANE OVER THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT MADE A TAKEOFF WITH THE AIRPLANE LOADED 86 LBS OVER THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE TAKEOFF GROSS WEIGHT. IN ADDITION, HE SAID HE SET THE FLAPS AT 10 DEGREES. ACCORDING TO THE CESSNA 150 OWNERS MANUAL, USE OF FLAPS WILL SHORTEN THE GROUND ROLL, BUT DECREASE THE CLIMB RATE. ONCE AIRBORNE, THE PILOT COULD NOT OUTCLIMB THE RISING TERRAIN. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED OVER A LAKE WITH THE WINGS ROCKING FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THE AIRPLANE THEN MADE A DESCENDING LEFT TURN INTO THE TREES. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION DISCLOSED THE FLAPS WERE SET AT 13 DEGREES AND THE ENGINE WAS TEST RUN SATISFACTORILY. THE PILOT'S MEDICAL HAD EXPIRED 5 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT. THE OPERATOR WHO RENTED THE AIRPLANE TO THE PILOT HAD NO RECORDS OF THE PILOT'S QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, OR CHECKOUT IN THE CESSNA 150. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_NYC92FA185.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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