Cessna 170 accident near Poplar Bluff, Missouri, March 9, 2021
On March 9, 2021 at about 6:15 pm local time, a 1950 Cessna 170, registered N9515A, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. 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 pilot’s decision to make a precautionary landing in a field that contained soft terrain, which resulted in the airplane nosing over. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to fly without a printed VFR sectional chart to identify the location of the destination airport.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 9, 2021 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Poplar Bluff, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170 A, built 1950 · all 170s on the register
- Registration
- N9515A · no longer on the register · serial 19383
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight and became lost as he neared his intended destination. During the flight, the pilot navigated via dead-reckoning and following roads. He occasionally referenced a mobile phone application to verify the airplane’s position on a digitized visual flight rules (VFR) sectional chart. The pilot did not have traditional paper VFR sectional charts to navigate with, if his mobile phone’s battery became depleted during the flight. Although he had access to a handheld GPS device, he did not use the device to navigate during the flight. About 15-20 minutes before reaching the intended destination, the pilot’s mobile phone powered off after its battery became depleted. The pilot then inserted the GPS power adapter into the airplane’s cigarette-lighter socket, but the GPS device did not power-on. The pilot continued on the current heading that took the airplane over his intended destination, but he could not locate the airport and subsequently decided to make an off-airport precautionary landing before the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot landed the airplane in what he believed to be a suitable field; however, after touchdown, the airplane’s main landing gear dug into soft terrain and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and the engine mounts. Postaccident examination and testing did not reveal any electrical system anomalies that would have prevented the pilot from using the airplane’s cigarette-lighter socket as a power source for his mobile phone and handheld GPS during the flight. Additional bench testing of the alternator, voltage regulator, and battery did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane’s electrical charging system.
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
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
- Nose over/nose down during landing defining event
- Miscellaneous/other during enroute (cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Flight planning/navigation › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of charts › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Geographic disorient (lost) › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Wet/muddy terrain › Effect on equipment
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 1,750 hours in all
- Last flight review: January 19, 2021
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,717 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 12, 2021
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300-A (piston); 2,717 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SNL Shawnee OK at 3:00 pm
- Destination: POF Poplar Bluff MO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 18 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.32 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from POF, 7 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KPOF 091753Z AUTO 22018G30KT 10SM CLR 19/06 A3032 RMK AO2 PK WND 21030/1744 SLP269 T01890061 10189 20033 58018
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
6 documents, released by the NTSB on July 26, 2023. 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 | Memorandum of Conversation (Richard W Ryan) | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
| 3 | FAA Inspector Statement (Dennis J Mueller) | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | FAA Record of Conversation (Richard W Ryan) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Bench Test Summary (Alternator - Voltage Regulator - Battery) | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 6 | 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.