Cessna 150M accident near Vero Beach, Florida, July 9, 1998
On July 9, 1998 at about 8:51 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N9363U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Vero Beach, Florida (Vero Beach Municipal A/P airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to obtain flying speed, and the delayed decision to abort the take-off, leading to a loss of control in flight, and the subsequent collision with a ditch.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 1998 · about 8:51 pm local time
- Place
- Vero Beach, Florida · Vero Beach Municipal A/P · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N9363U · no longer on the register · serial 15078312
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he and his brother were practicing touch and go landings at Vero Beach Airport. On the second touch and go, he added full power, turned carburetor heat off, and retracted the flaps. The airplane rotated and climbed to approximately 10-20 feet before it started to sink back to the runway. The airplane hit the runway and bounced back into the air three or four times. The pilot's brother, also a private pilot, then took the controls and attempted to regain control of the airplane on the runway. The airplane bounced one more time, broke off the nose landing gear, and impacted the ground, nosing over. After the airplane came to rest, both pilots exited the airplane unhurt. The pilot stated that they did not have sufficient airspeed for the airplane to climb. According to him the normal climb-out speed for a Cessna 150 is 65-70 knots, on takeoff the airspeed indicator was reading between 45 and 55 knots. According to the Cessna 150 flight manual, the flaps up, power off stall speed for a Cessna 150 is 55 miles per hour (48 knots).
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 68 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 21 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,034 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VRB Vero Beach FL at 8:04 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29R, 3,504 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from VRB, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.