Cessna 150 accident near Penwell, Texas, June 2, 2016
On June 2, 2016 at about 1:46 am local time, a 1969 Cessna 150, registered N5679G, was destroyed in an accident during enroute near Penwell, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s intentional flight into a silo.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 2016 · about 1:46 am local time
- Place
- Penwell, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 K, built 1969 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N5679G · no longer on the register · serial 15071179
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot telephoned his wife from his car and told her he was en route to his company's airplane hangar and was going to kill himself. She alerted her husband's employer, who then alerted the police department. The pilot took the airplane without the company's permission and then flew it into a 138-ft-tall silo. The autopsy report cited the manner of death as being "consistent with suicide."
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Miscellaneous › Intentional act › Suicide › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Physical › Health/Fitness › Use of medication/drugs › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Physical › Health/Fitness › Use of alcohol › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,359 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 5,359 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 15, 2015
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,987 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 2015
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-320-E2D (piston); 3,089 hours total
- Operator: Lm Air Patrol Service, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: KODO Odessa TX
- Destination: Penwell TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 040° at 18 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from KODO, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on September 15, 2016. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Toxicological Reports, Clayton Ray Chennault | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Report Photos | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.