Cessna 150M accident near Gainesboro, Tennessee, April 14, 1998
On April 14, 1998 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N704HL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gainesboro, Tennessee (Jackson County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper flare during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 14, 1998 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Gainesboro, Tennessee · Jackson County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N704HL · no longer on the register · serial 15078623
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During landing flare the aircraft porpoised and landed hard on the nose landing gear causing it to collapse.
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: student
- Flight time: 25 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 4 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,526 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 30, 1998; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 8A3 Livingston TN at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from BNA, 52 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.
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.