Cessna 150J accident near Gardner, Kansas, March 22, 2004
On March 22, 2004 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150J, registered N51365, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gardner, Kansas (Gardner Municipal Airort 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 pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clearance from the post. A factor was the post.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 2004 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Gardner, Kansas · Gardner Municipal Airort · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150J · all 150Js on the register
- Registration
- N51365 · registry record · serial 15069953
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage when the right wingtip hit a post while taxiing on the ramp. The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported the post was hit while he was taxiing back to park the airplane after conducting an hour of training in the local area. The CFI reported that the student pilot was taxiing the airplane back to the ramp where the aircraft tie-downs were located. The student pilot, who was seated in the left seat of the airplane, taxied too close to the post that was attached to a building, and the right wingtip struck the post.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 750 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
Dual student
- Flight time: 15 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: K34 Gardner KS
- Destination: K34
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.