Cessna 150M accident near Ormond Beach, Florida, June 4, 2002
On June 4, 2002 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N63591, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ormond Beach, Florida (Ormond Beach Municipal Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the dual student and failure to take prompt remedial action, resulting in a collision with a tree, a subsequent loss of control, and collision with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 4, 2002 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ormond Beach, Florida · Ormond Beach Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N63591 · no longer on the register · serial 15077414
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor stated that the takeoff and initial climb were uneventful, with the engine developing full power, and that during the climb the student pitched up excessively, and the airspeed decayed to near the stall speed. He said he then took control of the aircraft to avert a departure stall, and tried to clear trees at the end of the runway, steering the aircraft toward an area of lower trees, and extending the flaps to forty degrees in an attempt to balloon over the trees, but the left main landing gear became entangled in a tree, and the aircraft crashed incurring substantial damage. An FAA Inspector conducted a postaccident examination of the aircraft and stated that he did not find evidence of any preaccident failures or malfunctions to the aircraft or any of its systems which would have caused the accident.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 432 hours in all; 157 in this make and model; 96 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 366 as pilot in command; 96 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 1, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 17 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 5 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,264 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 16, 2002; 55.1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OMN Ormond Beach FL at 5:29 pm
- Destination: OMN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 08, 4,004 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from DAB, 8 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.