Cessna 150M accident near Lakeville, Minnesota, January 31, 1987
On January 31, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N714QW, suffered minor damage in an accident near Lakeville, Minnesota (Airlake airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt. 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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 31, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lakeville, Minnesota · Airlake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N714QW · registry record · serial 15079360
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR (CFI) WERE PREFLIGHTING THE ACFT TO FLY ON A COLD MORNING. TO FACILITATE BETTER ENG STARTING, THE CFI ELECTED TO TURN THE PROP WHILE THE STUDENT 'PUSHED THE PRIMER IN.' HE TOLD THE STUDENT TO CHECK THAT THE MAG & MASTER SWS WERE OFF & THE STUDENT ACKNOWLEDGED. ON THE 2ND 'TURN THROUGH,' THE ENG STARTED & RAN APRX 5 SEC. THE CFI WAS INITIALLY CLR OF THE PROP, BUT AS HE WAS BACKING AWAY, HE SLIPPED ON INCE & HIS RGT LEG WENT IN THE PATH OF THE TURNING PROP. HE WAS HOSPITALIZED WITH A SEVERE LACERATION & THE PROP WAS SLIGHTLY BENT. AN INV REVEALED THE STUDENT WAS AT THE CONTROLS WITH THE KEYS REMOVED FROM THE MAG SW. A FURTHER EXAM REVEALED THE MAG CIRCUITRY WAS NORMAL, EXCEPT THE MAGNETO KEY COULD BE REMOVED WHILE THE MAG SW WAS IN THE 'LEFT' POSITION.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,052 hours in all; 865 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 3,836 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,758 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 17, 1986; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 7°F (-14°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI87DER02.