Cessna 150 accident near Gregory, Michigan, April 23, 1986
On April 23, 1986 at about 7:20 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N16047, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gregory, Michigan (Smith Farm airport). It was a personal 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 1986 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Gregory, Michigan · Smith Farm · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N16047 · no longer on the register · serial 15073439
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CFI STATED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO LOOK AT PROPERTY AND GIVE A BFR TO HIS DUAL STUDENT. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK WIRES WHILE ON APPROACH TO RUNWAY 23 AT THE SMITH FARM AIRPORT. THE CFI STATED THIS ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED HAD HE USED A STEEPER APPROACH AND IF THE WIRES WERE IDENTIFIED WITH A RED BALL OR STREAMER.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all; 530 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 7,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,138 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 14, 1985; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,385 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 69G Gregory MI at 7:15 pm
- Destination: MI59 Gregory MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 2,140 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:09 pm from JXN, 19 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N16047 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.