Cessna 150F accident near Zeeland, Michigan, April 8, 2025
On April 8, 2025 at about 12:51 pm local time, a 1966 Cessna 150F, registered N6561F, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach (VFR go-around) near Zeeland, Michigan (Ottawa Executive Airport). It was an instructional 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 flight instructor’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during the go-around which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack and entering an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and her failure to ensure that the student had relinquished control of the airplane during the go-around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 8, 2025 · about 12:51 pm local time
- Place
- Zeeland, Michigan · Ottawa Executive Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150F, built 1966 · all 150Fs on the register
- Registration
- N6561F · registry record · serial 15063161
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and student were conducting a primary instruction flight. The flight instructor reported that the student allowed the airplane to get low and slow during a landing approach. The flight instructor took control of the airplane, added full throttle for a go-around, and began to retract the flaps. The flight instructor recalled being unable to reduce airplane pitch and believed her student may have still been on the flight controls. The student reported that after the flight instructor took control of the airplane it got too slow and entered an aerodynamic stall. Airport surveillance video showed the airplane flying over the runway in a nose-high pitch attitude and yawed left when it descended and impacted the ground left wing first. The airplane then nosed over and came to rest inverted in the grass next to the runway. The airplane’s forward fuselage and vertical stabilizer were substantially damaged during the ground impact and subsequent nose over. Neither the flight instructor nor the student reported any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The flight instructor reported that the accident could have been prevented had she not been “overconfident” in the student’s ability to land the airplane, if she had ensured the student had relinquished control of the airplane when she began the go-around, and if she had been quicker to recognize the situation.
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
- Loss of control in flight during approach (VFR go-around) defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during approach (VFR go-around)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during approach (VFR go-around)
- Nose over/nose down
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Pitch control › Not attained/maintained
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Yaw control › Not attained/maintained
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Angle of attack › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Instructor/check pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Instructor/check pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Instructor/check pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 262 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 172 as pilot in command; 4 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 26, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 2 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 0 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,796 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 21, 2025; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 1,138 hours total
- Operator: Wings Aero LLC
The flight
- Departed from: Z98 Zeeland MI at 11:55 am
- Destination: Z98 Zeeland MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 2, 3,800 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,600 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.16 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 am from KBIV, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KBIV 081253Z AUTO 34003KT 10SM OVC036 M02/M10 A3016 RMK AO2 SLP222 T10171100=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on January 9, 2026. 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 (Flight Instructor) | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (Student Pilot) | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Airport Security Camera Video | video | View Download |
| 4 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | 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.