Cessna 150L accident near Columbia, Mississippi, October 25, 1989
On October 25, 1989 at about 5:50 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N19007, was destroyed in an accident near Columbia, Mississippi (Columbia airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
SUICIDE. THE PILOT'S EMOTIONAL STATE OF DISTRESS WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 25, 1989 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Columbia, Mississippi · Columbia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N19007 · registry record · serial 15074087
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER THE PLT TOOK OFF, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO ENTER A CLIMB, WHICH CONTINUED UNTIL THE ACFT WAS OUT OF SIGHT. ABOUT 3 TO 5 MIN LATER, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED IN AN UNUSUALLY HIGH RATE OF DESCENT & IN A STEEP NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE UNTIL IMPACT. NO PRE-ACDNT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE PLT WAS RPRTD TO BE DISTRESSED BY ALLEGATION OF A RECENT ILLEGAL ACTIVITY. IN A LETTER TO HIS PARENTS, HE ALLUDED TO TAKING HIS LIFE.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 4,800 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 3, 1989; 80 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: ORO Columbia MS at 6:30 pm
- Destination: ORO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 5:50 pm from JAN, 90 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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 MIA90FA017.