NYC98LA061

Factual narrative

On January 17, 1998, at 1624 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150, N150JH, was destroyed during collision with terrain following an uncontrolled descent after takeoff from the Lake Placid Airport (LKP), Lake Placid, New York. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the training flight that originated at LKP, at 1515. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector, the student pilot departed LKP with a certified flight instructor for a 90 day check flight. The student pilot flew with the instructor approximately 45 minutes. The instructor then deplaned and the student pilot departed, at 1600, on a solo flight to "practice touch and goes." The instructor did not witness the solo flight or the accident. He was inside a hangar when he heard the sound of impact. In a written statement, a witness reported he was on the Sky Deck of a 120 meter tower in the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex adjacent to the airport. The witness stated: "I was in the observation deck of the ski jump across the road. It was approximately 4:00 PM. The plane caught my eye at the end of the left side of the runway. It was off the ground. The unusualness of its position drew my eyes to it. It was headed up at a severe pitch, then quickly banked to the right, and went almost straight into the ground into the woods just off the runway. The plane never rolled. It turned like a pinwheel. It also happened very quickly. Because we were inside, we couldn't hear anything." According to the FAA Inspector, there was evidence of fuel at the scene. Approximately 6 gallons of fuel was in the left tank and an undetermined amount of fuel remained in the right tank. The airplane had a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the use of automotive fuel, but fuel records revealed the most recent fuel purchase was for 15 gallons of 100LL aviation grade fuel. The gascolator was full of fuel and contained no contaminants. The fuel filter was clean and the carburetor contained fuel. Fuel system continuity was established through the fuel selector valve. The engine was examined at the Lake Placid Airport under the supervision of the FAA Inspector. The engine could not be rotated by hand. The crankcase and the #3 cylinder rocker cover suffered impact damage. The crankcase impinged on the crankshaft and the rocker cover was forced into the intake rocker. The crankshaft and engine starter gears were damaged, smeared, and bent opposite the direction of rotation. The magnetos produced spark at all terminal leads. The spark plugs were intact and light tan and gray in color. Examination of the student pilot's logbook revealed he had logged 86 hours of total flight experience, of which 8 hours were solo. The student pilot logged 5 hours of flight experience since March 19, 1997, all of which was in the Cessna 150. He had not flown in the 90 days prior to the accident. Prior to March, 1997, the pilot had not flown since October, 1994. The student pilot departed with a certified flight instructor for a 90 day check flight. The student pilot flew with the instructor approximately 45 minutes. The instructor then deplaned and the student pilot departed on a solo flight to 'practice touch and goes.' The instructor did not witness the solo flight or the accident. He was inside a hangar when he heard the sound of impact. A witness stated, 'The unusualness of its position drew my eyes to it. It was headed up at a severe pitch, then quickly banked to the right, and went almost straight into the ground into the woods just off the runway. The plane never rolled. It turned like a pinwheel.' The student pilot had 86 hours of total time, 5 hours of which were in the 11 months prior to the accident with no time accumulated in the 3 months prior to the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12