Cessna 150M accident near Ormond Beach, Florida, March 9, 1996
On March 9, 1996 at about 2:05 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N704XQ, 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). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of the pilot-in-command to apply caburetor heat before reducing the throttle to simulate an engine failure. Contributing to the accident was the carburetor icing conditions and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the emergency descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 9, 1996 · about 2:05 pm local time
- Place
- Ormond Beach, Florida · Ormond Beach Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N704XQ · no longer on the register · serial 15078959
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The CFI stated that while in the traffic pattern he reduced the throttle to idle to simulate loss of engine power, but he did not apply carburetor heat. The student hesitated in performing the emergency procedures, then applied carburetor heat 20-30 seconds later. The CFI aborted the simulation and added power but the engine failed to respond. He made a forced landing on a golf course and the airplane collided with a tree. The engine was subsequently started, but was not operated to full rated RPM due to damaged engine mounts. A review of the carburetor ice probability chart revealed that serious carburetor icing conditions were probable at descent power about the time of 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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,861 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 1,720 as pilot in command; 1,478 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,400 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 19, 1996; 76 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 FL at 1:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,701 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 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.