Cessna 150G accident near Marathon, Florida, October 30, 1990
On October 30, 1990 at about 1:05 pm local time, a Cessna 150G, registered N3220J, was destroyed in an accident near Marathon, Florida (Marathon airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A FORCED LANDING FOLLOWING A PARTIAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE CENTER ROCKER BOSS ON THE #3 CYLINDER WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 30, 1990 · about 1:05 pm local time
- Place
- Marathon, Florida · Marathon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150G · all 150Gs on the register
- Registration
- N3220J · registry record · serial 15065920
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON A X-WIND AFTER A TOUGH-&-GO LNDG, A PARTIAL LOSS OF ENG POWER OCCURRED. THE INSTRUCTOR (CFI) TOOK CTL & MNVRD THE ACFT TO LAND. THE ACFT WAS NOT ALIGNED WITH THE RWY, SO THE CFI ELECTED TO LAND IN A GRASS AREA. HE STATED THAT WHILE DSCNDG THRU ABOUT 100' AGL, 'THE YOKE FELL BACKWARD' INTO HIS LAP. HE BELIEVED THAT THE ELEVATOR CABLE HAD FAILED, WHICH ALLOWED THE ACFT TO CRASH. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, A STEEP TURN WAS MADE IN AN ATMT TO ALIGN THE ACFT FOR LANDING; THEN THE ACFT LEVELED OFF AT ABOUT 30' AGL & WAS AT A SLOW SPEED. THE ACFT THEN ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT & CRASHED. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS FOUND WITH THE FLT CTL SYS. A METALLURGICAL EXAM SHOWED THAT THE ELEVATOR UP CABLE HAD FAILED UNDER A TENSILE LOAD WHILE BEING BENT AROUND AN EDGE OR CORNER. AN EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THAT THE CENTER ROCKER BOSS ON THE #3 CYLINDER HAD FAILED IN FATIGUE. THE FATIGUE HAD ORIGINATED WHERE NUMBERS WERE EMBOSSED INTO THE BOSS DRG MANUFACTURE.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 320 hours in all; 23 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 209 as pilot in command; 31 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,922 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 30, 1990; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 5,008 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from MTH
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N3220J the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.