Cessna 150 accident near Bessemer City, North Carolina, September 25, 1988
On September 25, 1988 at about 4:55 am local time, a Cessna 150, registered N7831E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bessemer City, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1988 · about 4:55 am local time
- Place
- Bessemer City, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N7831E · no longer on the register · serial 17631
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE HAD OBSERVED A CLOUD LAYER FORMING ALONG HIS FLT ROUTE. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE ACFT VOR RCVR FAILED. THE PLT ELECTED TO CONTINUE VFR-ON-TOP TO HIS PLANNED DESTINATION BASED ON VFR WX REPORTED BY AN ATIS BROADCAST FROM AN ARPT (CLT) WHICH WAS NEAR HIS DESTINATION. UPON ARRIVAL IN THE VICINITY OF HIS DESTINATION, THE COMM RADIO FAILED & HE FOUND THAT THERE WAS A 'SOLID UNDERCAST' PRESENT. HE THEN DIVERTED TO CLT, BUT WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE IT DUE TO THE OVERCAST. WITH AN ESTIMATED 5 MINUTES OF FUEL REMAINING, HE DESCENDED THROUGH THE OVERCAST & BROKE OUT AT 200-300 FT AGL. HE OBSERVED A PAVED ROAD AND ATTEMPTED TO LAND ON IT; THE RT WING IMPACTED UNSEEN UTILITY WIRES DURING THE LDG AND THE AIRPLANE CRASHED. THE PLT STATED THAT HE CHECKED THE WX PRIOR TO T/0 BY LISTENING TO NWS WX RADIO AND BY MAKING A PHONE CALL TO HIS DESTINATION. HE DID NOT OBTAIN A FSS WX BRIEFING. OCCASIONAL LOW OVERCAST CEILINGS WERE FORECAST FOR CLT, BEGINNING A FEW HRS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,700 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 14,500 as pilot in command; 3,600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Beaufort NC at 1:10 am
- Destination: NONE Mocksville NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 am from CLT, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.