Cessna 150M accident near Phoenix, Arizona, July 28, 2008
On July 28, 2008 at about 2:20 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N704JD, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Deer Valley 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a touch-and-go landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 28, 2008 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Phoenix, Arizona · Phoenix Deer Valley Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N704JD · registry record · serial 15078640
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had flown for 1 hour with her certified flight instructor (CFI) prior to the accident flight. After the completion of multiple takeoffs and touch-and-go landings, the CFI signed the student's logbook for solo flight and exited the airplane. The student pilot then completed an uneventful departure and touch-and-go landing. She flew the airplane in the traffic pattern for a second time with the intention of performing another touch-and-go landing. During the landing roll she retracted the flaps and applied full throttle and turned off the carburetor heat control. The airplane then began to swerve left and veered off the runway. The pilot attempted to correct the deviation but the airplane continued the left turn and crossed over an adjacent taxiway. Concerned the airplane would collide with a ditch, she applied heavy brake pressure, at which point the nose gear collapsed. During the accident sequence the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and firewall.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 30 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,609.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2008; 10.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DVT Phoenix AZ at 7:00 am
- Destination: Phoenix AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25R, 4,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from DVT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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.
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.