Cessna 150M accident near Apple Valley, California, May 18, 1987
On May 18, 1987 at about 4:20 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N9220U, was destroyed in an accident near Apple Valley, California (Apple Valley airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. 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
- May 18, 1987 · about 4:20 pm local time
- Place
- Apple Valley, California · Apple Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N9220U · no longer on the register · serial 15078170
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND ENTERED AN INADVERTENT SPIN DURING THE INITIAL CLIMBOUT FOLLOWING A TOUCH-AND-GO LANDING. THE PILOT REPORTED A LOSS OF POWER AFTER CLIMBING TO 500 FEET. ANOTHER PILOT ON THE AIRPORT OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT IN A VERY HIGH ANGLE OF ATTACK WITH THE ENGINE OPERATING AT FULL POWER WHEN IT NOSED OVER AND IMPACTED THE GROUND FROM A HEIGHT OF 50 TO 100 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 375 hours in all; 20 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 240 as pilot in command; 54 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,854 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 12, 1987; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L26 Hesperia CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from VCV, 10 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.
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.