Cessna 150 accident near East Moriches, New York, August 10, 2000
On August 10, 2000 at about 6:55 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N103DP, was substantially damaged in an accident near East Moriches, New York (Lufker airport). It was a personal 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 pilot's failure to maintain a climb during climbout. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to reconfigure the flaps for the aborted landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 2000 · about 6:55 pm local time
- Place
- East Moriches, New York · Lufker · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N103DP · no longer on the register · serial 15069248
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
With the student pilot in the left seat, and the private pilot in the right seat, the airplane departed on a local flight. Upon returning to the airport, the student pilot completed the downwind and base leg portions of the traffic pattern. On final, the airplane was high, and the pilot selected full flaps for the student pilot. The airplane crossed the threshold, and continued to float down the runway. The student pilot flared the airplane, it went out of alignment with the runway, and then touched down hard in a nose high attitude. The pilot announced he had the controls, and aborted the landing, but he did not reposition the flaps. The airplane reached approximately 200 feet agl before descending into the trees. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have contributed to the accident. According to the pilot's operating handbook, in a balked landing, the wing flaps setting should be reduced to 20 degrees immediately after full power is applied.
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: private
- Flight time: 235 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,584 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 11, 1999; 30 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: O00 at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,300 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from FOK, 6 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.