Cessna 150L accident near Union, Illinois, October 20, 2001
On October 20, 2001 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N6609G, was destroyed in an accident near Union, Illinois. 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 not maintaining appropriate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2001 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Union, Illinois · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N6609G · no longer on the register · serial 15072109
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was observed flying toward the west. One witness said, "The plane was low exceptionally low." The witness said they watched the airplane initiate a turn to the north. Another witness said, "It [the airplane] was low and slow and the turn was tight. As he looked like he was going to complete the turn, he went straight down." The witness said the airplane disappeared into the cornfield. The witness said she then saw dust and debris coming up from the field. Both witnesses estimated the airplane to be approximately 200 to 300 feet above the ground when it began to turn. An examination of the airplane wreckage revealed no anomalies. FAA toxicology revealed concentrations of PROPOXYPHENE and NORPROPOXYPHENE present in urine, NORPROPOXYPHENE and TRAMADOL (1.195 ug/mL, ug/g) detected in blood, and TRAMADOL detected in liver. The pilot's daughter said that the month before the accident, the pilot was admitted to the hospital, having suffered congestive heart failure. She said in the months prior to the accident, the pilot had become forgetful. The pilot's primary physician saw the pilot the day before the accident to follow up on a pulmonary embolism. The pilot's pulmonary doctor revealed that he had last seen the pilot 10 days before the accident for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and chronic back pain. The pulmonary doctor said the pilot was taking several medication to include ZANTAC for gastric ulcers, TRAMADOL for pain, LASIX for edema, THEOPHYLIN for asthma, emphysema, or can be prescribed for bronchitis, COUMADIN a blood thinner, PEPCID for ulcers, and NEUROTIN for pain or seizures.
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: 892 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 795 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 29, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,969.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 17, 2000; 54.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Union IL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 7:25 pm from DKB, 20 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.
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.