Cessna 150L accident near Wadsworth, Ohio, September 4, 2008
On September 4, 2008 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N18538, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Wadsworth, Ohio (Weltzien Skypark 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 lack of radio communication with the airplane and the inadequate visual lookout by the driver of the vehicle.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 2008 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Wadsworth, Ohio · Weltzien Skypark Airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N18538 · no longer on the register · serial 15073926
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot and certified flight instructor were returning from a local instructional flight when a truck entered the active runway during landing. The wing of the airplane impacted the truck when the flight instructor attempted a go-around to avoid hitting the truck. The student pilot, flight instructor, and driver of the truck were uninjured. The truck driver did not have an available radio to receive and provide traffic advisories.
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
- Runway incursion veh/AC/person during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Lack of communication › Ground crew
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Ground crew
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,150 hours in all; 650 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 8 hours in all; 8 in this make and model
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Skypark Inc
The flight
- Departed from: 15G Wadsworth OH
- Destination: 15G Wadsworth OH
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 21
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.