Cessna 150G accident near Winter Haven, Florida, April 4, 2010
On April 4, 2010 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150G, registered N4655X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Winter Haven, Florida (Winter Haven'S Gilbert Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing in gusting winds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 4, 2010 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Winter Haven, Florida · Winter Haven'S Gilbert Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150G · all 150Gs on the register
- Registration
- N4655X · registry record · serial 15064705
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot completed his first solo flight the day prior to the accident. On the day of the accident, the student pilot was completing another solo flight in the traffic pattern. During his third landing on runway 5, the airplane bounced once, then landed again and collapsed the nose landing gear. The airplane came to rest on the runway and sustained damage to the firewall. No mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported by the student pilot. The recorded wind at the airport, about the time of the accident, was from 040 degrees at 4 knots, gusting to 16 knots.
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
- 551092 during descent - normal
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
Dual student
- Ratings: none, none, none, none
- Flight time: 34 hours in all; 34 in this make and model; 4 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,186 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, March 21, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor O-200 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Tailwheels Etc Inc.
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: GIF Winter Haven FL at 7:55 pm
- Destination: GIF Winter Haven FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 05, 5,005 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 4 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°C, dew point 54°C
- Altimeter: 30.129999 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from GIF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N4655X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ERA10CA218.