Cessna 150L accident near Fairmont, West Virginia, March 21, 1988
On March 21, 1988 at about 10:35 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N6763G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairmont, West Virginia (Fairmont airport). It was an instructional 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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 21, 1988 · about 10:35 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Fairmont, West Virginia · Fairmont · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N6763G · registry record · serial 15072263
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT PLT, THE ACFT CRABBED TO THE LEFT JUST PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT VEERED LEFT AND TRAVELED OFF THE RWY INTO MUDDY GRASS. DESPITE THE PLT'S USE OF BRAKES AND RIGHT RUDDER THE ACFT CONTINUED DOWN AN EMBANKMENT WHERE IT CAME TO REST ON THE NOSE AND RIGHT WING.
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: student
- Flight time: 49 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 10 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,823 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 20, 1987; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Airbourne, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: HLG Wheeling WV at 9:45 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0, 2,810 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:45 pm from CKB, 9 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.
Other NTSB records under N6763G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N6763G on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 150 7,993 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,683 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-200A 296 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Fairmont Muni-Frankman Field · nearest airport
- Wheeling Ohio County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in West Virginia 423 since 1982 · 53 in the last ten years
- West Virginia 886 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N6763G 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/BFO88LA027.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.