Cessna 150L accident near Port Townsend, Washington, June 20, 2001
On June 20, 2001 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N19218, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Townsend, Washington (Jefferson County Intl airport). It was a personal 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
An improper decision by the pilot to initiate an evasive maneuver toward the ground at low altitude, resulting in a hard landing. A factor was the aircraft's low altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 2001 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Port Townsend, Washington · Jefferson County Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N19218 · no longer on the register · serial 15074245
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that while on short final, over the numbers and approximately 100 feet above ground level, another aircraft passed close to him on a right-to-left crossing path. The other aircraft reported to have been involved was not identified. The pilot stated that he initiated a dive to evade the other aircraft, resulting in a hard landing which damaged the aircraft's tail. Unable to contact the aircraft operator for guidance due to lack of cell phone coverage, the pilot elected to fly the aircraft back to its home base despite the damage, and operated the aircraft on two successive flights back to the aircraft's home base. On the flight immediately following the initial hard landing, on an approach to a 1,750-foot-long runway with a 10- to 12-MPH crosswind, the aircraft experienced a second hard landing after which personnel at that airport reported observing substantial damage to the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer and aft fuselage.
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: 315 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 250 as pilot in command; 8 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 30, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,029 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 10, 2001; 93 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: W10 Langley WA
- Destination: 0S9 Port Townsend WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from NUW, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.